


Frozen II: Into the Unknown

by FFcrazy15



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fantastic Racism, Hans Redemption (Disney), Kristanna engagement, Sami Kristoff, kristoff being plot-relevant, magical characters other than Elsa, musical numbers that hopefully won't make you cringe, northuldra characters actually being plot-relevant, northuldra kristoff, pre-helsa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 84,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FFcrazy15/pseuds/FFcrazy15
Summary: Kristoff and Anna are engaged! Which would be terrific, if Kristoff weren't hearing voices, Elsa weren't tasked with discovering Arendelle's shadowed past and Anna weren't trying to help her fiancé keep a secret that could end the marriage before it even starts. The answers to their problems lie on the other side of the Mist, but truth comes at a heavy price. (Rewrite of Frozen II; crosspost from FF.net)
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Yelena/Mattias
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

_Summary: Kristoff and Anna are engaged! Which would be terrific, if Kristoff weren't hearing voices, Elsa weren't losing herself into the recesses of history, and Anna weren't trying to help her fiancé keep a secret that could end the marriage before it seven starts. The answers to their problems lie on the other side of the Mist, but truth comes at a heavy price. (Rewrite of Frozen II)_

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

Late in the evening, on a warm autumn night, a king and queen sat down with their children to tell them a story.

"Far away, as north as our borders reach, there was once an enchanted forest."

The girls crowded together, watching their father with interest. "But its magic wasn't that of goblin spells and lost fairies. It was protected by the most powerful spirits of all…" In the flame of his candlelight the specters of ancient spirits seemed to dance before the girl's eyes: "Those of air, fire, water, and earth…"

And with that Agdar was off on his story, lost almost in another world. "But it was also a home to our northern neighbors, the Northuldra people," he added.

"Were the Northuldra magical, like me?" The eldest of the two girls peered up at her father, unnaturally pale hair falling in a plait down her back.

"Yes, Elsa, some of them were—special people to whom the spirits had granted a unique friendship and bond." His eyes shone in the candlelight as memories crossed his mind: a woman lighting a cooking fire with a wave of her hand; a man who could walk across the water; a girl with whom the very stones of the earth cooperated in harmony. "We here in Arendelle had never seen magic before; their ways were so different from ours. But still, they promised us friendship. In honor of that, your grandfather, King Runeard, built them a mighty dam to strengthen their waters. It was a gift of peace."

"That's a big gift of peace," Anna commented.

"And your mother and I were honored to be invited to celebrate it." Idunna came to the bed and clasped his hands in hers. In his mind's eye the king could see them clasping hands as they had that day, exchanging doe-eyed looks, speaking to the chieftainess of the village. "We were newlyweds then, and your mother was pregnant with you, Elsa. The chief and chieftainess of the Northuldra welcomed us into their home… or so we thought.

"We weren't at all prepared for what the day would bring. We let down our guard. We were charmed. And it felt so... magical."

_In his memory, the crown prince and his princess walked through the tangle of blooming purple flowers, in the golden light of the poplar trees._

"But something went wrong."

_The young royals embraced each other, the princess with her head tilted upwards, smiling—and then a military horn blew loudly through the clearing, and both turned at the cry and tangle and clash of arms._

"They were attacking us!"

 _The crown prince drew his sword and fought off a Northuldran man._ _"Idunna! Run! Get back to the transport!"_

"It was a brutal battle. Your grandfather, the king…"

" _Get away from him! Father!"_

"Was lost."

The king fell silent for a moment, and his queen squeezed his hand solemnly. Elsa leaned forward. "What happened, papa?"

The king drew a breath. "The fighting enraged the spirits. Forest fires erupted; floods overfilled the banks, and a strong wind blew dust into our eyes. Your mother and I ran for our lives."

 _The prince and the princess scrambled over brambles and fallen trees._ _"The transport is just ahead!"_

"But just when we thought we could escape…"

_A thunderous roar pummeled through the tree branches, and both stopped, mouths agape in terror._

"The very earth turned against us."

_A monstrous giant of stone arose from the earth, it's fists raised to strike. It crushed the transport carts beneath its feet, and the prince threw himself over the princess, wrapping her in his arms._

"Did you die?" Anna whispered. Elsa nudged her impatiently, and the younger sister rubbed her arm, looking sheepish. Agdar chuckled.

"No, we didn't die. Just when we thought it was the end for us—and for you, Elsa—a Northuldran woman saved our lives."

"But I thought you said the Northuldra attacked you?"

"They did. But not all of them."

_The woman stood with her hand raised, the gesture commanding rather than pleading, and the earth stood still at the gleam in her dark eyes._

"The Northuldra who had magic were changed by it; it filled their whole being and marked them as its own. The woman who saved us had golden hair, as golden as the leaves on the autumn poplars. She was blessed by the earth, and when she spoke, the earth _listened."_

_The young royals cowered beneath the frozen giant, still clutching each other tightly. The Northuldran man who was with the woman hurried them away to a low-sitting sled. The woman leapt in behind, and he snapped the reigns, setting the reindeer off through the trees._

"With her and her husband's help, we escaped from the forest. But the flight was hard on your mother, and that night we welcomed our beautiful little daughter into the world." He reached out and ruffled his eldest daughter's hair, and she giggled. "Our little snowflake, with hair as white as snow. The only Arendellian, so they told me, to ever be born with magic."

"What happened to them?" Elsa asked eagerly. "Did she really have magic like me, Papa? Could I meet them someday?"

At this, the king and the queen shared a look. "We don't know, darling," Idunna said gently. "When we reached a town, they left us. Maybe they went north to the forest again."

"Could we go to the forest?"

But Agnar shook his head. "That is the most mysterious part of the whole story. You see Elsa, as we fled, a great mist rolled through the forest. No Arendellian has ever been able to pass through it, but here in Arendelle some Northuldra lived and worked in our towns. Many of them went north and vanished into the mist…but none have ever come out again to tell us what had happened on the other side."

"Why did they leave? Didn't they like it here?"

"When your mother and I returned without your grandfather, we had to tell the people what had happened in the forest. They were so angry at the Northuldra that they began to treat them very badly. Some lost their jobs; others found they were no longer welcome in their towns…." The king could picture whole families packing up their sleds and heading north, and he sighed. "Your mother and I tried to stop it—to tell people about the Northuldran family who had saved us—but our people wouldn't listen. They thought all Northuldra were the same, and drove them from our lands in revenge. Today, there are almost no Northuldra left in all of Arendelle."

"That's so sad," Anna whispered.

"Yes, it is. But your mother and I were lucky. We got to come home, with our precious daughter… and after that, we became king and queen of Arendelle, and had you, Anna, and have lived happily ever after." He blew out the candle. "And that is the end of the story for tonight."

"Whoa, papa," Anna whispered, sitting back. "That was _epic._ Whoever saved you, I love them." She flopped back onto the bed, and her mother, the queen, chuckled and added:

"Every day, I am grateful for what they did for us, but we never got to thank them. We never even learned their names."

"Don't you know _anything_ about them?" Elsa pleaded. Idunna smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed.

"When I was recovering, the woman used to hold you, Elsa, and she would sing us a song she said her people knew well. A song about a special river, called Ahtohallan, that was said to hold all the answers about the past, about what we are a part of."

"Whoa," Anna whispered.

"Will you sing it for us?" Elsa begged. "Please?"

"I don't know it in their language," the queen admitted, "but…she did teach me it in our tongue, once, long ago." The girls were peering up at her eagerly, and she chuckled. "Alright, cuddle close. Scooch in…."

_(Music begins, the melodic plucking of some stringed instrument.)_

IDUNNA: _(Cradling the girls.)_ "Where the northwind meets the sea

There is a river full of memory

Sleep, my darling, safe and sound

For in this river all is found.

All is found…"

_(Picking up Anna and carrying her to her bed. )_

"In her waters, deep and true

Lie the answers and path for you

Dive down deep into her sound–" _(Picks up Elsa, who giggles.)_

"But not too far or you'll be drowned."

_(Carries Elsa to the window. Zoom out to the fjord and to the northern lights in green and rose.)_

IDUNNA: "Yes, she will sing to those who hear

And in her song, all magic flows

But can you be brave what you most fear?

Can you face what the river knows?"

_(Cutaway to modern-day, on the fjord: zoom in towards the castle in fall, surrounded by the cliffs and the cresting water. The zoom-in gets closer and closer to the castle.)_

IDUNNA: _(Voiceover)_ Where the northwind meets the sea…"

_(Shot moving through a window, down a hall, past the portrait room..)_

IDUNNA: _(Voiceover)_ "There's a mother full of memory…."

_(Shot moves through the hall and over the shoulder of a young, fair-haired queen as she peers through the stable doors, and a man's voice joins the fading voice of the queen:)_

KRISTOFF: _(Idly, to Sven)_ "...Come my darling homeward bound.

When all is lost…"

_(He strums the lute in a melancholy way, and then pauses before continuing:)_

"Then all is found…"

_(Elsa steps back and silently closes the door, pressing her back to it and taking a deep breath, eyes wide.)_

* * *

**A/N: So this is a crosspost from my FF.net story now that I finally have an AO3 account.**

**I'll level with you guys, Frozen II was not my favorite movie for a number of reasons. It wasn't a bad movie, but IMHO it definitely needed one more rewrite.**

**...This is that rewrite lol. As you can see it's in two styles: past-tense prose and present-tense stage-notes for the music. Hopefully they should flow pretty naturally together, since I wanted it to feel both like a story and like a proper Disney movie.**

**Pax et bonum,**

**-FFcrazy15**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**The song "Get This Right" is an outtake from the original Frozen II soundtrack, and the stage notes here are based on the original storyboard for the song, which has been uploaded to YouTube.**

* * *

The castle garden was full of sunshine and swelling gourd-fruit, red maple leaves fluttering to the ground. The princess of Arendelle laughed as she caught one and then turned to the snowman at her side, handing it to him.

"Enjoying your new permafrost, Olaf?"

"I'm just living the dream Anna," the snowman at her side sighed as she sat down on the picnic blanket beside him. "Oh, how I wish this could last forever." She hummed absently. "And yet change mocks us with her beauty…"

"What's that?" Anna interjected, surprised.

"Forgive me, maturity is making me poetic," the snowman mused in byronic melancholy, and then perked up. "Tell me, you're older and thus all-knowing. Do you ever worry about the notion that, nothing is permanent?"

"Uhh…no?"

"Really? Wow, I can't wait till I'm aged like you, so I don't have to worry about important things."

The princes smiled and lay down, looking at the sky. "That's not what I mean. I don't worry because... well, I have you, and Elsa, and Kristoff, and Sven and the gates are open wide and…" She sighed happily. "And I'm not alone anymore."

ANNA: Yes, the wind blows a little bit colder

And we're all getting older

And the clouds are moving on with every Autumn breeze

Peter Pumpkin just became fertilizer

OLAF: And my leaf's a little sadder and wiser

ANNA: That's why I rely on certain certainties.

_(The two pass through the town, passing by villagers at work—raising a house, painting, logging.)_

Yes, some things never change

Like the feel of your hand in mine

Some things stay the same

ANNA/OLAF: Like how we get along just fine

ANNA: Like an old stone wall that'll never fall _(Olaf skips on said "old stone wall," which crumbles on the last step)_

Some things are always true

Some things never change

Like how I am holding on tight to you.

_(Shot change to Kristoff and Sven in town shopping)_

KRISTOFF: The leafs are already falling

Sven, it feels like the future is calling!

SVEN: Are you telling me tonight you're gonna get down on one knee?

_(They sit down on a curb)_

KRISTOFF: Yeah, but I'm really bad at planning these things out

Like candlelight and pulling of rings out _(Takes out ring and drops it; Sven catches it in his mouth.)_

SVEN: Maybe you should leave all the romantic stuff to me

KRISTOFF: Yeah, some things never change

Like the love I feel for her.

_(Eying himself and Sven in stuffy, fancy clothing.)_

Some things stay the same—

Like how reindeers are easier!

But if I commit and go for it, _(Pays for the kerchief.)_

I'll know what to say and do. —Right?

Some things never change...

Sven, the pressure is all on you.

_(Sees Anna ahead; they run to each other and embrace.)_

_(Shot change to Elsa, anxiously watching the preparations from the library balcony.)_

ELSA: The winds are restless

The frost is edging the onset of fall–

Is something coming?

I'm not sure I want things to change at all.

_(Smiling down at her sister and Kristoff.)_

These days are precious,

Can't let them slip away…

 _(Determined.)_ I can't freeze this moment,

But I still can go out and seize this day!

_(Everyone is preparing for autumn festival—carrying and setting tables, etc. Elsa arrives and embraces Anna.)_

TOWNSFOLK:

Ah ah ah ah ah ah!

The wind blows a little bit colder

OLAF: _(To the town children.)_ And you all look a little bit older

ANNA: _(Helping Kristoff set the table.)_ It's time to count our blessings–

ANNA/KRISTOFF: –Beneath an autumn sky!

TOWNSFOLK: We'll always live in a kingdom of plenty,

That stands for the good and the many!

ELSA: _(Creating magical "ice-works" over the flying standard, which is held triumphantly in the hand of a late king.)_ And I promise you the flag of Arendelle will always fly

ANNA: Our flag will always fly!

TOWNSFOLK: Our flag will always fly! (Our flag will always fly!)

_(Festival commences: food, dancing, gift-giving, family time as the sun sets into the autumn cool and the lamplight glows warm.)_

ALL: Some things never change,

Turn around and time has flown!

Some things stay the same,

Though the future remains unknown!

May our good luck last, may our past be past!

Time's moving fast, it's true!

ANNA/ELSA/KRISTOFF: _(Returning to the castle)_ Some things never change–

ANNA: And I'm holding on tight to you!

ELSA: _(Hugging Anna)_ Holding on tight to you!

OLAF: Holding on tight to you!

KRISTOFF: _(Spins her)_ I'm holding on tight to you...

ANNA: _(He tries to move on, but Anna catches him and pulls him in close.)_ I'm holding on tight to you. _(Kristoff smiles at her warmly, and they kiss.)_

KRISTOFF: Anna…could we take a walk in the garden? Before we turn in?

ANNA: _(Eyes twinkling)_ That sounds perfect.

* * *

The pair walked through the garden, hand-in-hand beneath the violet autumn night sky as the stars popped out one by one. "It's such a beautiful night, isn't it?" Anna sighed, and Kristoff glanced over at her, watching the stars sparkle in her eyes as she peered skywards. The wind tugged at the few loose strands of her red hair, and he felt a rush of emotion in his chest.

"Yeah. It's…it's beautiful. You're beautiful."

She turned to him and brushed a lock of blond hair out of his eyes. "You're beautiful-er," she teased softly, linking her hands behind his neck, and he blushed, looking away. She tilted her head at him, smiling, and then seemed to notice something over his shoulder. "Oh, wow!"

"What?"

She broke away, hurrying past him as she saw the flowers blooming from the trees over the bench. "But it's fall," Anna said in awe as she approached the tree. "Wisterias don't bloom in fall…"

"The trolls helped me out." She turned to see Kristoff rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"The trolls? They can do this?"

"Yeah, I mean, you know, they have magic, and– oh." For Anna had thrown her arms over his neck again. "Um. I'm glad you like it."

"I love it. Thank you."

"Um–" He gestured to the bench. "Do you want to sit?"

"Oh. Sure." They sat down, at a frankly awkward distance apart. Anna was watching him intently, and Kristoff felt the underside of his collar growing hot. "So," Anna prompted, after a moment. "You're a lord now…"

"Y– uh, yeah…"

"And here we are…" She looked up at the wisteria trees.

"Um, is it hot in here?"

"...W-we're outside."

"Oh." He tugged at his collar. "Is it hot out here?"

"I dunno," Anna stammered, and then tried again: "But, um, I think it's romantic."

"I-is it?"

There was a beat of silence as Anna tried to process this, surrounded by blooming out-of-season wisteria and watching her blushing suitor fidget in his fancy clothing. _Okay. So maybe he needs some prompting._ "Well I thought… kind of."

"I mean– uh– yeah! Uh…" He looked down wildly, an expression of pure _what am I doing_ on his face. "And here we are, in it, and I'm feeling very, uh, romantic, because it is romantic." She half-laughed politely. _Come on, Kristoff. I'm not exactly making this hard on you._ "And I guess I-I-I'd wanted to ask you–"

"Uh-uh-"

"Something."

"Yes!" She reigned herself in, still watching him eagerly. "I mean, okay."

"Do you have a stomach ache?" Kristoff asked abruptly. She deflated a little.

"Um, no."

"Did you have the fish?" He _did_ look a little queasy…

"Yes."

"Because I'm not feeling that well."

"Oh. Do you need like—a bucket? Or something?"

"No! No." He waved his hand and then ran a hand through his hair. "Why is this so hard?"

 _Oh no._ "This is hard?" Anna asked nervously. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"No, no! No no…" Kristoff held up a hand with a sigh.

[KRISTOFF]

It's not you, it's me!

 _(Standing)_ The timing and the setting aren't what I thought they'd be...

There's probably someone better for you out there anyway! _(Anna looks shocked and hurt.)_

Maybe I just need some space–

No, I should just come out and say…

_(Anna looks dejected—before he slides up next to her on the bench in a distinctively seductive way.)_

I wanna get this right, baby.

I wanna thrill you in the way you deserve! _(Anna clasps her hands to her chest, delighted.)_

I wanna blow your mind, darling!

I'm just having trouble getting up the nerve...

I wanna give you what you want

I wanna be the man you choose

I wanna sweep you off your feet _(Picks her up bridal style.)_

Without puking on your shoes– _(Drops her to turn, going green.)_

Maybe I'll do better in the candlelight!

I gotta get this right.

_(An imaginary fancy dinner with candelabra appears—and sets the table on fire.)_

(spoken)

No, no, no, stay right where you are! I'll put out the fire, my love.

(sung)

I wanna make you swoon, baby

I wanna rock you with my righteous romance.

I wanna set a mood, darling,

But I'm sweating through the seat of these pants!

ANNA: (spoken)

Are you okay?

KRISTOFF: _(Imaginary stage appears)_ I had planned to read a poem

I thought I'd play a little lute. _(Strum his lute; strings break.)_

Ooh, here's a thing! _(Gets down on one knee.)_

I've got a ring

I didn't bring?!

Oh, shoot!

 _(Frustrated)_ So, this went very well, goodnight!

I didn't get this right.

ANNA: (spoken)

Kristoff! It's okay! Come back!

_(Kristoff walks away—straight off an imaginary dock.)_

KRISTOFF: _(Sinking, to the imaginary fish.)_ I've never been in love before;

I don't know what I'm doing.

I've never been too worldly in the ways of woman-wooing.

I'm freezing up, I'm blowing it,

Not what I meant to do.

I know how crazy lucky I am to love you!

Gorgeous, funny, brave, and brilliant

Beautiful, won't give up on anyone

You, ohhh!

_(Leaps out of the imaginary water and lands in front of Anna.)_

[ANNA, spoken]

Aww!

KRISTOFF:

I wanna get this right–

 _(Low voice)_ Baby!

 _(Normal voice)_ I wanna love you in the best way I can.

I wanna make you cry

(spoken)

In a good way!

(sung)

By proving I could be your perfect man.

 _(Imaginary firework shoots him into the stars.)_ I meant to write it in the sky

I meant to get down on one knee

 _(Falling through the stars; sees his reflection in one of them.)_ I planned to really try to be the opposite of me...

_(Settling to earth in front of her, back in the garden.)_

But Anna, I will love you with all my might.

I promise you, _(patting his heart)_ in here,

I've got that part right.

 _(Turning away, dejected by his failure.)_ Or maybe we should do this on some other night...

ANNA: (spoken, _grabbing a rose and getting down on one knee)_

Wait! Lord Kristoff of Arendelle: will you marry me!

KRISTOFF: _(Whirling around, overjoyed)_

You got that right!

KRISTOFF/ANNA:

Baby, I'm gonna thrill you in the way you deserve

We're gonna get this right, darling

As long as we're together, we won't lose our nerve!

KRISTOFF:

I'm gonna be the man you want!

ANNA:

Guess what? You already are!

KRISTOFF:

I wanna make your life so good!

ANNA:

You're doing pretty good so far!

KRISTOFF/ANNA: _(Linking hands and dancing):_

We got the hard part over with

Now hold me tight…. _(In harmony, drawing each other close)_

We're gonna get this right! _(Kiss.)_

On the balcony overlooking the garden, one ice queen and a snowman peered down fondly at the new couple. "Aww," Olaf sighed. Elsa hummed, smiling despite herself. "Hey," the snowman added, after a moment. "What do you think the odds are that he turns out to be a deranged murderer and tries to kill you like the last guy she almost married did?" He slumped onto the railing contentedly, and Elsa gave him a mildly worried look, before glancing down again at the princess and her suitor—now fiancé.  
"Olaf." The snowman looked up at her, curious, and Elsa took his hand. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, anything."

"When Anna and Kristoff come inside, tell them I wasn't feeling well and that I went to bed."

"You're not feeling well?" Olaf's round little eyes went even rounder. "Do you have a fever? Are you cold? Wait, now, you don't get cold, just like me–"

"No, no, Olaf, I'm not sick," Elsa said, taking his hand reassuringly. He frowned.

"So then why would I tell Anna that?" Elsa hesitated, and he frowned at her for a moment before gasping. "You want me to _lie?"_

"Just this once," Elsa whispered, kneeling down. Olaf looked uncomfortable. "It's just a little lie. It's for Anna and Kristoff's own good."

"Oh! You mean like a surprise?"

"...Yes," the queen said at last. "Like a surprise."

"Well, that's a whole different game of varpa! What's the surprise?"

"I can't tell you," Elsa said, putting on a mischievous smile. "Or it won't be a surprise."

"Ooh, I love surprises! Sure thing, Elsa." And then he hugged her skirt. "You can count on me!"

He went skipping away, and the queen sighed. She cast one last anxious look down at the embracing lovers, and then left the balcony as well.

* * *

The bedroom was covered in dark shadow and silence. A flicker of blue light appeared beneath the doorway, and then the door creaked open a crack, and a hand slipped inside.

Elsa pushed open the door, looking around anxiously, and then shut it behind her, the sphere of blue snowflakes dancing in a lazy, spinning glow in her hand. She crept forward and looked around the room.

Kristoff was not a very tidy man; books and papers were scattered haphazardly around the room, and she wrinkled her nose slightly as she bent down and picked up an old shirt that smelled distinctly of reindeer. There was nothing under it, so she put it back down. Then, leaned up in the corner on the opposite side of the room, she saw what she was looking for.

The beautifully crafted old wood of the lute gleamed in the blue light as she approached it and knelt down. Careful not to damage the strings, she turned the lute over and lay it, flat-face down, on the floor, and held the glowing orb to the wood. The blue light illuminated the underside of her face and her pale hair as she let out a low sigh: she'd found what she'd been afraid she would find. "Oh, Kristoff…"

The stamp of boots outside the door caused her head to whirl around, holding her breath. The footsteps approached the door, and she extinguished the light, darkness falling over her. The golden glow of candlelight appeared under the crack in the door…

...And then it passed. The queen let out a sigh of relief in the near-darkness and then looked down again. She picked up the lute, biting her lip, and then stood and crossed to the door. After poking her head out and checking to make sure the hall was empty, she slipped out again and shut the door behind her, leaving the room in darkness.

* * *

"We need to talk."

Kristoff yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Elsa, it's—what, two in the morning?" He frowned at her. "I thought you weren't feeling well?"

The queen stood in front of him, her arms crossed, as if she were cold. "We need to talk," she repeated, her tone finally waking him up properly. It was cold, but not with anger—with _fear._ "Now."

"Alright," he said slowly. "Let's get Anna–"

"No. She can't overhear this."

He crossed his arms. "Whatever you can tell me, you can tell Anna. She doesn't like secrets, you know that–"

"I'm not the one keeping secrets!" she snapped in a whisper.

A long silence developed in the dark hallway. The queen looked down and away, ashamed at herself for losing her temper. "Just… please. Come to the library. We'll talk there in private."

Kristoff followed her uneasily through the darkened hallways. When they reached the library, he saw that a lantern had been lit in the far back corner. Elsa shut the door securely behind them after he'd entered and locked it.

"Elsa, what's all this about?"

"I saw you propose to Anna."

"Oh." He relaxed a bit. "I mean, technically she proposed to me–"

"Do you love her?"

Kristoff blinked. "What? Of course I love her, I love her more than anything–"

"How much?" Elsa pressed. "What would you be willing to do for her? To be with her?"

"Anything," he vowed, bewildered. "I'd do anything for her, you know that."

"Do you mean that? Think carefully."

He stared at the queen, suspicion and worry beginning to dawn on his face. Elsa looked away again. "Come this way."

The lantern on the back table, it turned out, was scattering light across a number of open books, and one very familiar instrument. Kristoff hurried forward and picked the lute up, looking it over for damages. "You took this out of my room?" he accused hotly. "Who told you that you could do that?"

"Where did you get that instrument?"

"It was my mother's," he said, annoyed. "And it's the only thing I've got left of her, so I'd thank you not to go _stealing_ it from my _bedroom._ Jeez, Elsa, haven't you ever heard about invasions of privacy?"

"Your mother's," Elsa murmured.

"Yeah, now if you'll _excuse_ me, I'd like to get some sleep–" He tried to brush past her, but she reached out and caught his arm, stopping him.

_"Where the north wind meets the sea…"_

He turned, suddenly tense. _"There's a river full of memory…"_ Elsa sighed. "I heard you playing a few days ago. I wasn't going to ask, but once you'd proposed…" Kristoff didn't reply, and she held out a hand. "May I? I promise I won't damage it."

He hesitated, and then sighed, shoulders slumping, and handed it to her. Elsa set the lute down on the table, string-side down. Etched into the rounded bottom and the back of the neck were carefully carved, almost runic designs—images of people, reindeer, suns and moons. Kristoff stared down at it, seemingly frozen.

"Does Anna know the truth about you?"

A long silence passed, before Kristoff nodded.

"I told her last month…right before I bought the ring."

"Last month?" He nodded again. "Were you two ever going to tell me?" Elsa demanded.

He stiffened. "It didn't seem like something you needed to know."

"Didn't need to know!" He tensed up and looked anxiously around the darkened library, and she lowered her voice. "Kristoff, do you have _any_ idea how dangerous this is?" she whispered fiercely. "There are laws against Arendellians marrying Northuldra; if our people ever found out–!"

"That's why we weren't going to tell you," he insisted. "That way you wouldn't be guilty of helping us break the law."

"Guilty of helping you break the law? Is that what you think I'm worried about? Kristoff, don't you understand?" Elsa waved her hand, and a flurry of snowflakes appeared, depicting clashing swords and spears in the hands of angry men. "The Northuldra _attacked_ Arendelle and betrayed our gift of friendship by _killing_ our _king!_ If the people ever found out the truth…" She banished the snowflakes with a wave and sat down tiredly in the nearest chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can't overrule the will of a whole kingdom. You and Anna would have to leave Arendelle. _Forever."_

Kristoff stared down at his lute on the table. He knew what this meant, somewhere inside he'd always known…

"Which is why you should have come to me from the start."

He looked up, surprised. Elsa pushed her bangs out of her eyes with a sigh and gave him a wry smile.

"I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty much an expert in keeping secrets." He half-chuckled despite himself. "Kristoff. If you are going to be crown prince of Arendelle, then nobody can _ever_ know about this. We'll have to make new records for you and lock the old ones away, invent a new family history…you're going to be under a lot of scrutiny as it is, since you're a commoner, but with a little work, I think we can make this believable."

"So…you'll help me break the law? To marry Anna?"

"I love Anna, more than anything. And I love you. You're my family now too, Kristoff." The man let out a sigh of relief. "I'll do whatever it takes to help you two be happy– oof!" Kristoff had stepped around the table and hugged her, sweeping her right out of her seat. "Ehm– um– not really a hugger!" Elsa coughed, and he set her down, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Um, sorry. But– thank you, Elsa, thank you so much, you have no idea how much this– I can't believe it, I have to tell Anna."

She laughed quietly, massaging her bruised ribs. "I'm happy you're happy." Her smile grew sad. "I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way."

But Kristoff's face was set in stone. "I love Anna," he vowed. "And I'll do whatever it takes, to be with her."

"Even lying about who you really are? Kristoff, don't misunderstand me, I _want_ you in our family." She peered down at her hands. "But hiding such an important part of yourself…it's a burden, and not one to take lightly."

"I will be whoever and whatever Anna needs me to be. All I want is to be with her."

And Elsa smiled.

The lantern was extinguished; they bade each other goodnight at the staircase, and the queen continued up to the royal bedchambers as Kristoff made his way down the hallway to the guest rooms, lute under his arm. As he did so, something caught his ear, and he stopped, turning to the nearest window.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

The moonlight shone over his frozen face as he stood stock-still.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

_The young blond boy lifted his head from where he sat huddled against a building in the cold, turning his face northwards._

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

The distant echo of the herding call faded, and he let out a low breath. He moved on, ears pricked, yet determined to ignore the voice if it returned. If he ignored it, it would eventually go away; it always did. And besides, whatever the voice wanted, it didn't matter.

He couldn't get through the mist, anyway.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.** **A few wording changes have been made to the "subtitles" for "Amas mu Vuordà" to make it better reflect the Sami wording. These are based off the translation done by Maret Sofie here:** **www. youtube. com[slash]watch?v=0143WM4n9p0 . However, using the original lyrics for the most part means that the "subtitles" are not a perfect translation; for that, I apologize.**

**Warnings: well-intentioned but ultimately misguided subconscious racism.**

* * *

[SUBTITLE: One Week Later]

"Today is a very happy day for our kingdom."

The crowd around the castle fountains in the rose-and-violet sunset listened eagerly as the queen looked fondly at her baby sister and the ice-harvester, who were clasping hands and peering lovingly into one another's eyes. "We are pleased to announce the betrothal of our own Princess Anna to Lord Kristoff Bjorgamn, Official Ice Master and Deliverer." Elsa met Kristoff's eyes and smiled. "Kristoff: Anna and I are so lucky to be able to welcome you into our family, and I am certain you will make an _excellent_ prince for Arendelle." Kristoff grinned back, and she turned back to the crowd. "The wedding will be held in two months' time, and of course the whole town is invited to the celebrations. Olaf will be in charge of handing out invitations."

"Black bunad optional but encouraged!" the snowman instructed cheerily as the townspeople began to move forward. "Everyone is invited, so plus-ones are now plus-everybodies! Hello, ma'am, will you be having the chicken or the lutefisk?"

Anna giggled at the snowman's antics, before letting out a little "Oh!" as Kristoff swept her in. "Well aren't you romantic," she teased, tapping his nose. He beamed at her.

"Eh, well, I may have picked up a few tips from Olaf." He winked at her and nodded to the snowman, who had donned a black bowtie for the occasion. "He's very popular with the ladies." Anna laughed, and they shared a doe-eyed smile. "Anna, this is…everything I could have asked for. I can't imagine being happier than I am right now."

"You're not the only one," Anna murmured, and leaned in to kiss him, before a voice called out:

"Kristoff?" He and Anna glanced over; Elsa was weaving through the crowd towards them, the townspeople currently distracted by the rush to get invitations. "Could I have a word with you?"

"Uh, sure." He kissed Anna's forehead. "I'll be back soon."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He smiled his crinkle-eyed smile at her, and then left with the queen. Anna watched them go off, sighing happily to herself and clasping her hands to her chest.

Moving inside, Elsa gave a polite nod to the gathered servants, and then murmured out of the corner of her mouth, "This way." Kristoff followed her down a side hall and to a nearby room, where Elsa shut the door and turned to face him.

"I wanted to show you this." She opened the curtains to let in the light, revealing a small chest, finely-carved, which when opened revealed a brown paper folder. She unwound the fastening string and passed it to him; Kristoff opened it. "Forged records," she explained as he studied the papers within. "And a new family tree." He didn't respond, running a finger over the names. "Anything you have from your childhood can be kept in here. We'll keep the chest safely stored here in the castle." When the man still hadn't spoken, she prompted: "Kristoff?"

"I…." He looked down at the documents, and then closed the folder and looked up. "Thank you. I know how dangerous this was for you."

"There's one last thing." He raised his eyebrows. "Your lute. I know how much it means to you, but the carvings on the back are too noticeable. You're lucky no one saw it before." He looked away. "It would seem strange if it just disappeared, so I've secretly commissioned the kingdom's best woodworker to make another one, identical to yours except for the carvings." She added in a gentler tone: "We'll keep your mother's safe, don't worry." He gave a wordless nod. "Well!" She folded her hands. "I'll let you go. I'm sure you and Anna have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah…yeah." He forced a smile, the tension fading from his shoulders. "Wedding planning, and all that. Thank you, Elsa."

"Of course. Have a good evening."

He hesitated, and then nodded, and left.

* * *

_Knock-knock-kn-knock-knock!_

Elsa looked up from the book she was reading in surprise. "Anna? Is that you?"

"Can I come in?" The voice was muffled by the wood of the door.

"The door is unlocked."

The knob turned, and Anna peeked her head in. "Hey."

"Hey." Elsa waited as Anna entered and shut shut the door behind her. "How's Kristoff?"

"Fine. He's packing up the chest now, so I figured I'd go to bed." She hesitated. "Actually, I was hoping we could talk about that…"

Elsa set down the book, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"Well…" The princess walked into the room, clasping her hands. "I've talked to him about it and…Elsa, he's pretending he's okay, but I know he's not."

The queen's face softened. "I know. But it's how things have to be. Anna, I _like_ Kristoff, and he'll be a good prince." She glanced at the window with a sigh. "It's just that I don't think our people would have the same opinion."

"I know. But…" Anna bit her lip, sitting down on the edge of her sister's bed. "Elsa, I wanted to tell you from the start, but Kristoff didn't think it was a good idea." She shook her head. "In my experience, keeping secrets, shutting doors—it only hurts people in the end. And I know it's Kristoff's choice, and I respect that, but…you're the Queen, Elsa. If _you_ told people the truth, they would listen. These laws, you could change them."

"I wish I could, Anna. Changing a law is one thing; changing people's minds is a lot harder." She bit her lip, and then scooted over on the bed and patted the duvet. "Come here."

Anna moved up next to her, and Elsa sighed. "People fear what is strange and unfamiliar—what they can't _control."_ She raised a hand and a six-pointed snowflake appeared to hover in the air. "One of the reasons Father wanted to keep my powers a secret was because of its ties to the Northuldra. I know you don't like secrets, but Kristoff _loves_ you." She lowered her hand, and the snowflake vanished. "Isn't that worth keeping a secret for?"

"I suppose…" She sighed through her nose, and then smiled tiredly. "Anyway, Kristoff and I owe you one. For like, the rest of our lives."

Elsa smiled. "I know." Then she tapped her sister's nose. "And you, dear sister, are going to make it up to me by bringing me chocolate truffles every day."

_"Every_ day?"

"Yes, and you can only eat half of them."

"Wow, okay, very cruel."

"I prefer 'firm and inspiring leadership.'" Anna stuck her tongue out at her and Elsa laughed, ruffling her sister's auburn hair. "Anyway, you must be excited! Planning a wedding–"

"Oh my gosh, Elsa, I have so many ideas!" Immediately her sister had perked up, and the queen smiled. "Actually, could I stay here tonight?" She peered at her sister hopefully. "You know, sleepover, girl-talk, all that stuff?"

Elsa chuckled. "Alright. So." She settled back against the pillows and flicked her hand; a little snow-figurine whose silhouette was reminiscent of Anna's appeared above them, in a white gown. Anna gasped, delighted. "Tell me, what are you thinking of for a dress?"

"Ooh, a big puffy gown, for sure…and a bow, right there…"

* * *

_(Scene shifts to a shot of the outside of the castle; it's clearly much later in the night, with crickets chirping and the town peaceful and quiet, every window dark. Shot then moves to another room. this one filled with shadows and lit only by the bright moonlight. Kristoff is packing his former life away in the box, ignoring the voice as it repeats itself over and over:)_

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah…. Ah-ah, ah-ah…._

_(Kristoff sighs and ignores it, putting a few loose items into the box.)_

_[Suggested music: Stephen Scaccia's cover of "Into the Unknown."]_

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah,_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah,_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah…_

KRISTOFF: _(Not looking up from his task)_ "Gulan mun du, guldal in

[SUBTITLES: I can hear you, but I won't.]

_(Folds his reindeer-hide tunic; sets it down in the box.)_

Diet váttisvuođat eai geasut mu

[Some look for trouble, while others don't.]

_(Picks up lute, hesitates.)_

Mus leat duhát siva manne mun in beroš dain

[There's a thousand reasons I should go about my day,]

_(Steels his will and puts it into the box.)_

Mun maid sávan ahte vare jávkkaše buot dat, oh-oh-oh...

[And ignore your whispers, which I wish would go away, oh-oh-oh...]"

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah._

KRISTOFF: Oh-oh… _(Puts hand on lid to shut it.)_

VOICE: _(Insistent) Ah-ah, ah-ah!_ _(Kristoff grits his teeth.)_

KRISTOFF: _(Tearing hand off lid, whirling around angrily)_

It albma leat - bealljis nu čuodjá, nu dát lea!

[You're not a voice—you're just a ringing in my ear!]

_(Pacing)_

Jus gulašin du - in mun gal - ja oidnojuvvon dat lea

[And if I heard you—which I don't—I'm spoken for, I fear.]

_(Picking up and looking at engagement portrait of himself and Anna.)_

Buohkaid geaid lean ráhkistan leat dáppe siste juo

[Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls.]

_(Turning and holding up the portrait like proof.)_

Lea dušše munnje lávlut mun in vástit dutnje go

[I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls!]

_(Shot of portrait of himself and Anna in formal clothes and posture.)_

Mus leat fearánat ja in dárbbat lasi šat

[I've got my fairytale, I don't need something new.]

_(Sets portrait down hard on dresser and stalks towards window–)_

Balan mun oaidnit geavvát jus čuovun du apmasii

[I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you–]

_(Throws open window, looking north with desperation.)_

Amas mu vuordá, amas mu vuordá,

[Into the unknown, into the unknown,]

_(Strong wind hits his face, and he closes his eyes:)_

Amas mu vuordá!

[Into the unknown!]

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah._

_(Shot of a confused Elsa sitting up sleepily and looking around her bedroom; the wind has blown the window panes open, which are covered in frost.)_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah..._

KRISTOFF: _(Sighs; shuts window)_

KRISTOFF: Maid háliidat? Du dihte gozán ijaid mun

[What do you want? Because you've been keeping me awake.]

Leatgo mu dájuheame, vai vuohon boastut dagan?

[Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake?]

_(Pause. Looks around room, filled with the effects of his past.)_

Leagoson soames dieppe guhte sulastahttá mu?

[Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me?]

_(Approaching the box to look at the lute, at the intricate carvings.)_

Gii dovdá go in leat das gos berrešin

[Who knows deep down… I'm not where I'm meant to be…?]

_(Looking up, tormented; pacing, running hands through his hair)_

Ja mun beaivvis beaivái dovddan mun fal gievrrun veahážiid

[Every day's a little harder, as I feel this power grow.]

_(Pacing, pacing—and then stops on seeing his reindeer-hide tunic.)_

It go'n dieđe oassi mus fal ohcala?

[Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go-]

_(Shots of him opening the doors of the stables, in tunic and with lute slung over his back)_

KRISTOFF: (VOICEOVER): Amas mu vuordá!

[Into the unknown!]

_(Riding Sven full-pace through the woods)_

Amas mu vuordá!

[Into the unknown!]

_(Leaps off with ease as Sven slows and cups his hands around his mouth; ALOUD:)_

Amas mu vuordá

[Into the unknown!]

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

KRISTOFF: _(Calling out over fjord)_ Whoa-oh-oh!

_(Elements around him leap to life by magic; Kristoff looks at them with awe:)_

Leat go dieppe? Go don ozat! Go mu dovddat;ale čiegat!

[Are you out there? _(Fire dances)_ Do you know me? _(Wind swirls)_ Do you feel me? _(Water leaps from fjord)_ Can you show me? _(Pebbles role)_ ]

KRISTOFF: (VOICEOVER): Ah-ah, ah-ah!

_(Shot of Elsa inside castle abruptly shoved from her bed by the winter wind)_

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

_(The elements play around Kristoff's feet, forming images from the North Forest)_

KRISTOFF: Ah-ah, ah-ah!

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

KRISTOFF/VOICE: Ah-ah, ah-ah!

_(Shot of Anna calling her sister's name)_

Ah-ah, ah-ah!

_(Elsa stumbling down stairs, frost fracticling behind her)_

Ah-ah, ah-ah!

_(Kristoff laughing, surrounded by the spirits)_

Ah-ah, ah-ah!

_(The spirits swirl around him and then rush north, towards the fjord)_

KRISTOFF: Gosa don manat?

[Where are you going?]

_(Shot of Elsa staggering in the force of the wind, Anna running behind)_

Mun imaštallan

[Tell me; I need to know!]

_(Kristoff running after them, onto a precipice of rock)_

go dajat "čuovo mu"

[ Why are you calling me–]

_(Hands cupped, like a herding-call:)_

Amas mu vuordá!

[Into the unknown!]

_(Elsa stretches out her hand in warning; blue light sparks on her fingertips, and crystals erupt through the air.)_

As the rush of magic flooded around them, each of the parties froze in their tracks, looking around with trepidation. The crystals, etched with unfamiliar symbols, hung suspended in the air; the spirits had vanished, and Kristoff pulled back from the edge of the rock, suddenly suspicious.

"What...are these?" Anna questioned lowly, looking around her. "Elsa, did you do this?"

"I-I don't know… I didn't mean to…" She pointed to one after another. "Air, earth, fire, water…"

Ahead of them, Anna could see Kristoff doing the same. "Elsa," she said slowly, her frown deepening.

"They look like… ice…?" The queen raised an uncertain hand to the nearest crystal, etched with a symbol like a drop of water.

"Elsa, don't–!"

But it was too late; the queen tapped the frozen surface of the crystal lighty with her fingernail. It shuddered in the air for a moment and then stabilized. Anna let out a low breath of relief.

Then in the distance there came a flash of light, like a four-pointed star, and the distant sound of crystals crashing to earth on the seawards-side of the fjord.

Kristoff was the first to react, scrambling back towards Sven. He swung his legs over the reindeer and urged him backwards, before catching sight of Anna first and then Elsa. "Sven!"

The crystals were crashing down around them as the reindeer narrowed his eyes in an all-too-human expression and turned course. "Get Anna out of here!" Elsa shouted, and with a single nod Kristoff rode past them and swept Anna up onto the reindeer.

"Kristoff! No, wait– we have to go back–!"

"Elsa can take care of herself; hold on!"

In the town, people were pouring out of their houses with candles and lanterns, as the shattering noise of thousands of ice crystals hitting the cobblestones echoed through the streets.

"What is this?"

"What's going on?" A man picked up one of the ice crystals, bewildered, and then looked up as the flame in the streetlamp above him guttered and went out. Panicked cries spread through the town as every candle and lamplight was extinguished in sudden whirls of purple flame.

On the hill beside the fjord Kristoff urged Sven faster, and the reindeer picked up speed through the trees. It was just in time, too; the winds blasted through the trees with abrupt force, tearing autumn leaves from the branches and pulling the braids loose in Anna's hair. She looked around nervously. "Um, Kristoff?What's happening"

"Fire; air– water's next–"

"Wait, _what?!"_

In the town, the fountains died. The waterfall dried up. People began to run. Further up the mountain, Kristoff pulled Sven around in the shelf under the waterfall overlooking the city and hopped off the reindeer. He was breathing hard, Anna noticed, peering down at the outcrop on the fjord. "C'mon. Come on, Elsa, you can't fight with them, get out of there…"

"Kristoff–?"

The water was pulling back from the shore. On the precipice, the queen stepped back once, then twice, uncertain. She raised her hands and narrowed her eyes, ready to do battle.

And then the fjord unleashed its fury.

The pathetic blast of ice did nothing to stop the onrush of water, and the queen was knocked head-over-heels under the flood in a flurry of white bubbles and rolling black depths. On the top of the hill Anna let out a cry that was lost in the noise and rushed to the edge of the shelf before Kristoff caught her arm.

In the tumbling depths of the flood, the all-too-human woman who was the queen fought for the surface, ice fractalling around her hands as she panicked. She didn't know which way was up, which was down– it was too confusing– she was running out of air, the world was going black– _Anna, Kristoff, I'm sorry–_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

And then, as the world was fading to dark, something came swimming at her out of the gloom and hooked up underneath her arm.

She found herself carried upwards and surfaced, coughing and gasping. The– the _whatever-it-was_ was pulling her towards the shore, and soon she felt the scrabble of rocks beneath her feet (her slippers were long since gone), and she stumbled towards the banks, coughing and wheezing. She turned back to see a ripple in the water, and then nothing.

"Let me go! She needs me, she needs my help–!"

"Anna, they're not done, you have to wait–!"

"Who? _Who's not done,_ what is going–?!" And then the princess felt the fight leech out of her as she watched in horror. In the distance, the very earth beneath the townspeoples' feet was rippling, bricks cracking, cobblestones becoming as unsteady as shifting sand as the people fled the city.

"Earth," Kristoff breathed behind her. "Water. Air. Fire. The four spirits."

"What? But…why…?" They watched the people gather on the slopes of the cliffs overlooking the town, like tiny ants in the distance. "Why would they do this?" Anna whispered.

"I...I don't know."

They fell silent in awe and horror for a long moment, before Anna suddenly gaped. "Elsa!" Kristoff looked and saw what she had spotted: the figure of the queen some ways below, stumbling along the shoreline in her purple nightgown, white hair shining like a beacon in the moonlight.

Together with Sven they scrambled down the cliffside to the beach below. "Elsa!" Anna launched herself at the queen and then drew back when her sister coughed, breathing hard. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she wheezed. "Swallowed– a lot of water–"

"It's okay, sit down here…"

They led her over to a boulder, where Elsa caught her breath as Anna rubbed her back. "There. Deep breaths…"

"Why did you try to fight them?" Kristoff demanded. "When you said to take Anna I thought you were going to get out of there!" Elsa shook her head, still out of breath. "You can't fight the ocean, Elsa, are you crazy?"

"I thought– my magic would protect me. Kristoff–" She looked up, her expression angry and distressed, "what did you do?"

"Me?"

"I saw the Spirits around you–"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Those crystals were made of ice!" Kristoff retorted, pointing to the fjord. "Sound like anyone we know, Elsa?"

"This wasn't me!" the queen insisted. "My magic just– _reacted,_ I didn't have any control over it—you saw it, Anna, tell him!"

"Okay, everyone, let's just calm down," Anna said soothingly, standing up between them. "We'll figure out what happened faster if we work together. Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone's wondering where we are, so…"

The queen and ice-harvester hesitated, and then Kristoff relented. "Anna's right. We should get up to the cliffs with everyone else."

"Agreed," Elsa sighed, standing up. As they turned to leave, she added: "Kristoff. Your tunic?"

"What?" he turned back.

"Your tunic," she repeated. When he still looked bewildered, she gestured to the fallen crystals around them. "This is clearly Northuldran magic; if you just go walking up there dressed like that–"

"Oh." He looked down at the tunic.

"And Sven should probably stay in the forest tonight too. Just in case." When he hesitated, she set a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell everyone this was my fault; that should put the attention all on me. We don't want them even thinking about you right now."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right…"

The town had gathered up on the cliffs, milling around anxiously. When they saw Anna and Elsa emerge from the forest, they rushed to congregate around them.

"Queen Elsa!"

"What's happened? What's going on?"

"Is there going to be another snowstorm?"

"Everyone, calm down," Elsa advised, holding up placating hands. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes, everyone's safe and accounted for."

"Good…"

"Olaf!" Anna rushed forward and knelt down in front of the snowman, who was surrounded by a group of small children lining his face with ice crystals. "Oh dear." She giggled. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah!" The snowman nodded eagerly as the children giggled and shoved more crystals into his snowy face. "We're calling this 'Controlling-What-You-Can-When-Things-Feel-Out-Of-Control.'"

"Look at these symbols," one of the townswomen said, picking up one of the crystals. "What do they mean?"

"Water," one said, pointing to a dark blue crystal. "Fire…air…"

"This is Northuldran magic!" The crowds turned to see one man holding up an ice crystal depicting the symbol for the earth. "I've seen it before!"

"He's right." More stirring as an older woman peered down at the crystals in her hand. "These are Northuldran symbols…"

"The Northuldra have cursed us! They're attacking us again!"

"This is not the doing of the Northuldra," Elsa said firmly, drawing the attention back to herself. "There are no Northuldra left in Arendelle, there haven't been for years. This is my fault."

At the edge of the crowds Kristoff hovered silently, now only in his blue nightshirt and trousers, watched the discussion play out. Elsa had been right; so long as the attention was on her, nobody was even looking at him.

"My father told me long ago that my magic came from four powerful spirits of nature; the same–" She raised her voice again as the murmurs started, "–the same four spirits which gave some of the Northuldran people magic! _That_ is why the symbols look familiar; I must have done something to upset the Spirits."

"Like what?" a voice called from the back.

"I don't know. But I _promise_ you, I will fix it. For now, we'll set up camp here; Oaken–?"

"Your Majesty, I have a surplus of camping supplies! I can give the crown an excellent rate!"

"Good; the royal treasury will pay you back after the crisis. Anna, come with me…"

They moved through the crowd as people began milling around again. They were joined surreptitiously by Kristoff. "Did people buy it?" Elsa asked him under her breath.

"I think so. Elsa–"

"Not here." She looked around at the people and lowered her voice to a whisper: "We'll talk further up the hill."

* * *

"Okay, I don't understand."

Kristoff winced. Anna was pacing back and forth in the firelight, casting long shadows down the hill where they had set up camp with his tent and sled, away from the rest of the town. "You've been hearing a Voice, and you didn't think to tell me? Your _fiancée?"_

"Look, I didn't think it was a big deal. This just happens; sometimes the Voice is there and sometimes it isn't."

"Sometimes? Kristoff, how long has this been going on?" Elsa asked, her brow knitted with concern. She was standing next to the fire, arms crossed as if she were cold—her usual sign of anxiety.

"Since I was a kid. It comes and goes; nothing like this–" He gestured around vaguely, "–has ever happened before. That's why I didn't think it was worth telling you about."

"Kristoff, we're _engaged,"_ Anna pleaded, sitting down next to him on the overturned log. "We're getting married, we're supposed to be able to trust each other!"

"I _do_ trust you," he insisted. "I just didn't think it was a big deal, that's all."

"Voices aside," Elsa said, waving her hand impatiently, "Why didn't you tell me that you have magic? I think if anyone deserves to know–"

"No," he said hurriedly, holding up his hands. "I don't have magic, it's not like that. Look, the Spirits—they look after all the Northuldra, that's what my mother and father told me. They watch over us. But I can't command nature the way you can; it's not the same."

"Then why did my powers react like that?" she demanded. "It was like I completely lost control over it; it's never done anything like that before."

Kristoff shook his head. "Honestly, Elsa, I don't know."

"You're the only Northuldra we know; if you don't have the answers, who would?"

"I've lived in Arendelle my whole life! Elsa, I've never even seen the North Forest! Almost everything I know about magic is stuff I've learned from the trolls, and that's not the same."

"Do you know anything that might be helpful?" Anna asked soothingly, running a hand along his arm; he calmed down a little. "Anything at all?"

"I don't know, I…" He shook his head, brow furrowed. "It's been so long."

"It's okay. Just think back, to anything you might remember."

He stared into the fire, thinking. The golden light washed over his face and hair.

"...Ahtohallan."

The sisters stirred. "The river of memory?" Anna asked. "From the lullaby?" Kristoff nodded.

"My mother used to tell me that Ahtohallan was the source of all the Northuldra's magic. It was a place the four spirits created together…a storehouse of magic and memory. From that store sometimes the spirits granted extra protection to certain people." He met Elsa's eyes.

"People…like me." He nodded. "It's a real place? Somewhere you can go?"

"I don't know. My mother never talked about anyone ever going there, anyway. But she said if anyone could ever find it, it would tell you the truth, about anything. The four spirits had crossed all four corners of the world and brought their knowledge back there; Ahtohallan knew the answer to every question. But it was dangerous, too: dive too deep–"

"–And you'll be drowned," Elsa finished. "And this voice you're hearing, you think it's Ahtohallan calling you?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure."

"Why would it do that?" Anna asked nervously.

"I don't know. Why would it give an Arendellian magic? It's a place of mystery, if it even exists. I don't even know if it's possible to go there."

"What about the people in the North Forest? Would they know?"

"Maybe. If there are people left there, which nobody's sure if they are, and if we could get past the mist, maybe. But nobody has ever left. Not anyone who went before us…and not my parents."

"Your parents? You mean…they're still alive?"

"I…I don't know, Anna. Maybe. I haven't seen them in sixteen years…"

"What happened?" Elsa said softly. Anna sat down next to her fiancé, studying him anxiously. The firelight crackled dimmer in the hearth, and Kristoff watched it, seemingly reluctant to look at the sisters.

"…When I was about six years old, my parents decided to go back to the forest," he said at last. "They'd come to Arendelle before I was born, but life here was getting harder for our kind. Arendellians didn't want us here. And my mother…she said it was time. That they had an obligation to go back. So they packed up the sled."

_The family of three approached the towering wall of mist as the sled slowed, and the woman stepped off. Her hair was golden, as golden as the poplars in autumn, and where she walked spring grass sprouted through the snow. She held a hand up to the mist, and it pulsed with a soft golden light._

"They told me to trust them, but I was scared. I knew the rumors about people not coming back. When we got to the border I…I lost my nerve."

_The sled picked up speed again and approached the wall of mist slowly, the movement jostling the wide-eyed little boy on the back, the reindeer-hide hat falling over his fair hair._

"Lost your nerve?"

"I jumped off the back of the sled."

_The boy's feet hit hard on the ground, and he stumbled and fell back, accompanied by the clattering sound of a loose basket of food and an old wooden lute. He scrambled to his feet and stretched out a hand as the sled was swallowed up by the mist._

"That was the last time I ever saw them. They probably didn't even notice I was gone until it was too late. The moment they were gone, I wanted to follow them, but I was too afraid. I wandered into a nearby village and the people there…looked after me, I guess, although they made me do odd jobs around the village in exchange for their 'charity.' A month later I was sick of them. I missed my parents and ran back to the mist, tried to go in after them."

_The boy sobbed, launching himself repeatedly at the rolling fog; the violet light pulse and rebuffed him._

"But it… rejected me."

"What? Why would it do that?" Anna demanded, looking incensed on his behalf.

"I don't…"

_—Oh, look, it's the little Northuldra beggar!_

_I am not!_

_Sure you are. Look at those clothes!_

_I'm not! I'm not one of those– those barbarians!—_

"...I don't know."

There was a long silence. Neither of the sisters knew what to say. At last, Kristoff sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"There's one other thing you should know." He looked up at Elsa. "I don't have magic, but…my mother did. Like yours. It was how she kept food on our table; she could make anything grow, no matter how cold it got in the winter…"

"When I met you in Oaken's," Anna murmured. "When I asked if the snowstorm seemed magical, you weren't surprised, because–"

"Because you'd seen magic," Elsa finished in a hushed voice. "Powerful magic, beyond what the trolls could do." Kristoff nodded. "You weren't going to tell me?"

"It was our family secret; I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. The Arendellians didn't like it when she did magic, so we kept it quiet. I guess I just…couldn't betray her like that, even after all these years. I'm sorry, Elsa."

"I guess if anyone understands that impulse, it's me," she sighed.

"And you kept all this to yourself? All this time?" Anna's voice was quiet, but her hand laced itself through his and squeezed his palm.

Kristoff shrugged, looking into the fire. "I knew how to take care of reindeer, so when I found Sven a year later we got a job where we could blend in. Making up a new last name wasn't hard, and I look Arendellian enough, so long as you don't look too close. The trolls took me in and I just explained that I'd been adopted by a family in the forest. Eventually everyone forgot that they didn't know where I came from or who my parents were."

There was a long silence. At last, Anna sighed. "Alright. So what do we do now?" She looked down at the town, pitching little tents and starting little fires all over the hillside. "We need to fix this."

"Could we ask the trolls?" Elsa questioned, but Kristoff shook his head.

"Their magic is different; it's not like yours, Elsa. If there are answers anywhere, it's on the other side of the Mist."

"The Mist," Anna repeated. "You mean the Mist nobody ever comes back from, the mysterious Mist that Arendellians can't get through. That Mist."

"Look, all I know is what I remember—kids' stories, old lullabies. That's it. You know everything I know. But the Voice comes from the other side of the Mist, I'm sure of it."

"You said it wouldn't let you in before," Elsa pointed out. "What if it still won't?"

"Then we'll have done everything we can."

The queen considered this, and then nodded. "Alright. You and I will set out tomorrow morning; Anna–"

"I'm going," the princess said immediately.

"What? No. Anna, I have my powers to protect me, you don't."

"Excuse me, I climbed the North Mountain, survived a frozen heart _and_ saved you from my ex-boyfriend and I did it all without powers, so, y'know, I'm coming. Besides, Kristoff doesn't have powers either."

"Kristoff is the one hearing voices." ("A Voice," Kristoff corrected.) "Besides, what if we can't get back through the mist? Someone has to stay here and look after Arendelle."

"The person hearing voices," Anna retorted, grabbing Kristoff's arm ("One voice. Just one. Singular noun,"), "is _my_ fiancé. Besides, if anyone should stay in Arendelle, shouldn't it be the _queen?_ I'm going, Elsa, and you can't stop me."

"It's too dangerous–"

"The world is dangerous! And in case you didn't notice it when the _ocean_ just attacked you, your powers can't protect you from everything! Elsa, you can't just keep me locked up in that castle to protect me, and if the love of my life is hearing voices then I'm going to find out why!"

"Could we please stop referring to it as 'hearing voices!'" Kristoff interjected, exasperated. The sisters stopped their arguing, and an uncomfortable silence appeared around the campfire.

At last, the queen sighed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "It's late; we should get our rest. We'll come up with a plan tomorrow."

"You two take the tent," Kristoff offered. "I'll sleep out here with Sven."

He and Anna bade Elsa goodnight, and the queen slipped inside the tent. When the flap had settled shut, Anna turned to her fiancé. "Hey. Are you doing okay?" Kristoff shrugged, watching the fire, and she set a hand on his arm. "You know you can talk to me," Anna insisted, and he looked up at her.

"Honestly, Anna, I don't know what to think. I gave up on trying to get through the Mist a long time ago." He looked around at the families dotting the hillside. "Arendelle is my home, it always has been. And it's where you are. But if I'm honest, I've always wondered what's on the other side of that wall."

She smiled tiredly and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I mean it. No matter what." Kristoff smiled and ruffled her hair with his free hand. Anna scrunched up her nose. "How did that lullaby go again? It's been so long I don't really remember…"

Kristoff looked up as he heard a soft snuffling sound and smiled. "Hey buddy." Sven was holding out the lute, carefully perched between his teeth. "Thanks." The reindeer nosed him and then lay down beside him, and Kristoff began to strum the strings thoughtfully. On impulse, he whistled an all-too-familiar four notes…

* * *

[Musical interlude: _The Fox and the Hound's_ "All Is Found"]

_(Scenes: shot moving away from the campfire into the night, looking over the displaced down._

_Shot changes to the travelling montage: the sled passes over a bridge in the forest surrounded by pines; past the ice castle at sunset; down an increasingly old road along a river; over the tundra beneath a peacock-blue sky filled with stars; through the misted mountains at dawn…_

_Shot finally changes to Elsa snoring in the back of the cart, with Olaf leaned up against her. Anna's green eyes are peeking over the front bench, before she turns back around.)_

"How are they?"

"Both asleep." The princess tilted her head in faux-bashfulness before waggling her eyebrows at him. "Soooo, what do you wanna do?"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow and then chuckled. "Heh. Sven?" The reindeer glanced back. "Keep us steady, will ya?" The reindeer huffed appreciatively and led the cart along. "So."

"So." Anna peered up at him mischievously through her eyelashes. "Marriage."

Kristoff nodded faux-serious. "Marriage."

"Gonna be spending a _lot_ of time together…"

"Uh-huh."

"And I've been thinking…" She half-shrugged. "About our honeymoon."

"O-oh." His voice broke a little, and Kristoff cleared his throat, grinning like a fool. "Really? Y'know, they say Corona is nice this time of year."

"I was thinking something a little closer to home." She scooted closer to him. "You know…like a nice cabin in the woods, some peace and quiet…the whole place to ourselves…"

"Um." His face was going _very_ red. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds– perfect, that sounds just perfect." Anna smiled at him. "Yeah, I'd like–"

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

The call cut him off mid-sentence, and he looked around. "Sven, stop." The reindeer slowed down.

"Kristoff?" Anna asked.

"It's the Voice. We're close; this place looks familiar." He got out of the cart, looking around.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

"Yeah…yeah, I remember these cliffs. Get Elsa." He started forward, looking up and around warily.

"Olaf, get up. Elsa…"

The group and Sven followed Kristoff into the evening sunset. They came around a cliff-face and stopped. "Oh, wow," Anna murmured.

"I assume this is it?" Elsa said, turning to Kristoff. He nodded, mouth agape in awe, as he peered up at the wall of mist, rising like an ocean wave from the grassy plain. They stood there for a long moment, dwarfed by the phenomenon.

Elsa was the first to recover, hurrying down the last small outcrop and onto the tundra. She stopped in the rolling mist around her ankles as Kristoff and Anna followed up behind her. "Okay," Anna said. "How does this work?"

Kristoff bit his tongue, and then started forward. He vanished for a moment into the swirling fog, and then an angry violet light flickered and he was thrown back again. "Whoa!" He stumbled back into the open air, and then brushed off his tunic, peering up at the wall with annoyance. "Okay, so that hasn't changed…"

Olaf threw himself at the fog, delighted, and giggled as he was tossed back head-over-stubby-heels. "Whoo-hooo! Hahaha!"

"Elsa?" Anna inquired. The queen experimentally stepped forward and pressed her hand into the clouds, but a pulse of violet magic pushed her hand back. She shook her head.

"Kristoff, I don't know how we're supposed to find any answers if we can't get past the Mist."

"Look, I told you, it doesn't like me. And since you're Arendellian I guess it doesn't like you, either."

"Whoo-hooooo!" _Magic pulse._ "Yeah!"

"So what do we do? Is there a way around it?"

"Look, if I knew I would tell you."

As the bickering continued, Anna stepped forward, eyeing the Mist uncertainly. She closed her eyes and focused. "Please," she whispered. "We need to find out what's going on; just give us a chance. Please let us in." She opened her eyes and hesitantly reached out a hand.

"Maybe there's some kind of secret code, something you need to say…"

There was a soft flicker of gold light, and Anna let out a breath. She pushed her hand further and met no resistance. "Um, guys?"

"Secret code? I don't think being Northuldra is like being in a clubhouse, Elsa."

"Guys." They turned. The gold light continued to flicker warmly around her hand, like a cheerful sunbeam. Elsa's mouth dropped open.

"What did you do?"

"I knocked. In a manner of speaking."

Kristoff turned to Elsa. "Knocking. We thought of 'secret code' before 'knocking.'"

"Come on," Anna urged, starting forward. Kristoff met her and took her hand in his.

"Anna, wait." She turned back; Elsa was wringing her hands. "You know the rumors. Once we go in, we might not be able to get out. What about Arendelle?"

"Arendelle needs us to do this," Anna argued. " If you want to go back, go ahead, but I'm staying with Kristoff."

Elsa smiled despite herself. "If you're going, then I'm going." She took Anna's other hand. "We'll do this together. Olaf?"

"Hahaha–" The snowman had rushed into the mist. When he wasn't immediately rebuffed, they heard a "Wait…" from within the mist. Elsa giggled, pressing her free hand to her mouth. Olaf backed out, looking confused.

"Come on, Olaf."

The snowman hurried over and took her hand. Sven trotted over to Kristoff's other side. The five of them peered up at the clouds, and seemed in unison to take deep breaths. "Together," Anna said firmly. Elsa and Kristoff nodded.

Together, the group ventured into the mist.

* * *

**A/N: I want to make it clear that, although Elsa is well-intentioned here, the way she is acting in this chapter is** _**not** _ **acceptable. That should become very clear as the story goes on, but I wanted to mention it preemptively here as well.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**A/N: With the mythology in this, I'm drawing more from Disney's version of Northuldra mythology than actual Sámi mythology; although Disney did speak to indigenous elders regarding the presentation of Sámi mythology in the story, I don't believe that the specific "Four Spirits" or "Ahtohallan" are drawn from any actual Sámi folklore.** **I apologize for that, but since the story as Disney structured it only works with lore it established, I'm working with what I have here. If you would like to learn more about traditional Sámi beliefs, learnreligions-dot-com has a section on it here: https:[backslash backslash]www. learnreligions. com[backslash]sami-people-religion-beliefs-and-deities-4782383.**

* * *

The Mist was dense and cool; none of the party could see more than a few feet ahead of them. Strange violet light flickered through the swirling clouds, and Sven let out a low noise of distress. Kristoff patted his flank.

"It's okay, buddy." He wasn't even sure if he believed it himself. The only member of the group not looking around nervously was Olaf, who was practically skipping through the thick carpet of fallen autumn leaves under their feet.

"I just love adventures. I've heard that enchanted forests are excellent places for personal transformation!"

"Transformation?" Anna repeated uncertainly, looking around.

"I can't wait to see what it's going to do to each one of us…"

The group shared nervous looks, but barely had time to worry over this before an abrupt blast of wind at their backs shoved them all forward—and refused to stop.

"What is this?"

"Elsa?"

"Stop pushing me!"

"Whee!"

 _"Whoa!"_ Suddenly the wind released them as they stumbled forward, out from the wall of mist. "What was that?" Kristoff demanded, as Sven mooed in annoyance. Olaf giggled and ran at the wall, which once again rebuffed him. Anna pressed against the Mist, which pulsed violet and pushed back against her hand. Elsa shot an experimental blast of ice into it and jumped back as the magic ricocheted back.

"Aaand we're locked in. Great. Elsa?"

"Anna, look…" Anna turned back, and saw what Elsa had seen. "This forest is beautiful…"

It was. Golden-boughed trees of poplars rose on all sides, with red lichen and fallen leaves covering the ground. Birds chirruped and small animals scampered through the ferns and undergrowth. Together the group began to move forward, almost against their own will, awed and enchanted by the beauty of the wood. Sven scratched up against a tree, while Anna and Kristoff linked hands and walked towards what seemed to be the sound of running water.

After passing through a small copse of trees, they found what they had been looking for: a wide canyon, with a small river far below and a great dam holding the water back to create a lake. "The dam," Anna murmured, awed. "It's still standing."

"Looks like it's still in good shape, thank goodness."

"What do you mean?"

"If the dam broke, it would create a massive wave so big it would wash away everything on this fjord."

"Including Arendelle." He nodded. "Well… thank goodness it's still standing then." She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "I love you. And we're going fix this."

"Thanks, Anna." He pulled her into a hug, and she buried her face in his fur tunic. It smelled the same as ever—like reindeer and woodsmoke and that sort of outdoorsy smell Kristoff always had. She pulled back, her smile turning slightly coy as she peered up at him through her eyelashes.

"Y'know, in different circumstances, this would be a pret-ty romantic place," she suggested.

"Yeah?" He grinned and leaned down to kiss her, before a strange noise made Anna freeze up. She put a finger over Kristoff's lips.

"Did you hear that?"

"Uh–"

"It sounded like a horn." She disentangled herself, looking around. "Where's Elsa? Oh, no. Why did we split up? That's the first rule of adventuring, you never split up!"

"Anna, calm d–" But the princess was already gone, dashing back through the trees. He sighed and turned to Sven, who was giving him a sympathetic look.

"Don't patronize me."

* * *

" _Elsa? Elsa!"_ Anna burst into a clearing and stopped, relieved. "There you are. Where's Olaf?"

"Olaf? I thought he was with you." Elsa's eyes went wide. "Did he wander off again?"

* * *

"Guys?"

The snowman was peering around pleasantly, standing completely still next to the mist. "Anna? Elsa? Sven? Yoohoo?" He waited. Nothing. "They'll come back," he reassured himself. "They know better than to just go wandering off on their own. This is fine."

Still nothing. And then nothing. He tried to sit down.

And then the wind shot out from the mist, caught up the forest leaves, spun him around, and landed him on his snowy behind.

There was a long silence.

"This…is fine."

_[Musical suggestion: "When I'm Older," by Josh Gad. I'm not writing that out because I value my sanity. Feel free to watch the video on YouTube.]_

OLAF: 'Cause when you're older….

Absolutely everything makes sense!

This is fine!

_(And he is abruptly picked up by a tornado of wind.)_

* * *

_"WHOA!"_

The group turned at the sudden noise, and then went slack-jawed as they saw the unfolding disaster. "Olaf!"

Anna was the first to react, racing towards the growing tornado of angry wind. The group stopped and scampered back, but to no avail: the tornado seemed to spot them and chased the trio and reindeer down, sweeping them up into its path and dragging them back towards the Mist.

"Hey guys! Meet the wind spirit!"

"Coming through!"

"Oh I think I'm gonna be sick!"

The trio toppled head over heels inside the funnel; Kristoff collided with Sven, Anna was tangled up in her cloak and Elsa could hardly tell which way was up or down. She caught a glimpse of Anna about to be struck by an oncoming branch and blasted it out of the way with her magic, only to be immediately attacked by a smaller gust of wind fluttering around her arms. "Hey! Stop!"

That seemed to be enough for the wind to identify her, for Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven were unceremoniously deposited onto the forest floor just in front of the Mist, while the wind spirit lifted Elsa higher into the funnel. Anna scrambled to her feet. "Elsa!" A blue light was beginning to shine through the storm of increasingly intense wind above her. "Let her go!"

And then the tornado plummeted to earth.

Within the eye of the storm, Elsa planted her feet firmly on the ground, screwing up her face. She could feel the magic in the wind around her, and latched onto it, targeting it with her own. "Nn!"

A blue light began to expand from within the tempest. The princess scrambled forward, shielding her eyes. "Anna, be careful!" Kristoff shouted, fighting against the wind.

Anna gritted her teeth and forced another step. "That's– my– sister!"

Her magic was winning, Elsa could feel it. But the wind wasn't going to give up yet. She pumped more ice into the swirling clouds, drawing from the mist in the air around her and forming a fine hovering cloud of ice crystals, each imbued with magic. _Come on. Come on!  
_ But something was happening in the icy mist. Figures were beginning to coalesce out of the snowflakes—figures that looked all too familiar.

_"Idunna! Run! Get back to the transport!"_

_"Hrrah!"_ An icy sword swung through the air, and she saw her grandfather's face form and fade away. _"For Arendelle…"_

And then– then, a hand outstretched, loose hair billowing in the wind, and a woman's face, peering into her own with all the command of a queen.

Elsa gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. She forced her hands outwards. _Come on!_

And then the world exploded.

A burst of icy mist rushed through the trees. The frost faded away with a crackling noise of freezing ice, and then the forest fell silent again. Elsa straightened up. Around the queen were strange statues—figures cast in ice from a battle long ago. Anna and Kristoff, who had hunched over in an effort to protect themselves from the blast, straightened up, panting. Anna caught sight of her sister and rushed forward. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Elsa reassured her, looking around.

"What are these?" Kristoff asked as he stopped beside one of the ice figures—a reindeer, perfectly carved down to the last detail out of ice. Sven snuffled it, interested.

"They're hollow on the inside," Anna noticed, peering through the side of a frozen horse. "They look like…"

"Like moments out of time," Elsa murmured, raising a hand to the ice-horse's snout.

"Did you make these?"

"No—or if I did, I didn't mean to. I must have frozen some of the water from the mist…"

"These must have been the last things the mist touched." The group turned to see Olaf absent-mindedly "warming" his hands over a frozen "fire." "The water remembered these shapes."

"How could water remember something?" Anna asked, confused, but the snowman looked entirely unalarmed.

"Well, water has memory, and since memory remembers things–"

"Wait, what?"

"Ooh!" Olaf looked delighted. "Did you not know that? Perhaps the student has now become the master," he added pensively, striking a somewhat philosophical pose, before picking up a stick and pointing to Sven. "Water has memory! The water that makes up you and me has passed through at least four humans and/or animals before us." Sven straightened up, a look of reindeer-y disgust on his face, and spat out the puddle water he'd been drinking. Elsa and Anna wrinkled their noses. "And remembers _everything!"_

The wind-spirit which had just recently been a dangerous enemy picked up Sven, turned him head-over-hooves and suspended him in the air with a small pile of leaves. Sven whinnied unhappily. "Hey, hey." Kristoff waved the leaves away, looking annoyed. "Put him down." The wind complied and swirled around Olaf, who giggled.

"Heh-heh! I like you too, wind spirit. I think I'll name you…Gale!"

The wind shot past him and around Kristoff's hand, and then up through his tunic. "Whoa! Hey- get out of there!" It complied, ruffling through his sleeves and flipping around Anna's cloak and Elsa's braid.

"Oh! Aren't you curious– whoa!"

The queen laughed as her braid became an impromptu mustache. "You in a better mood now?"

The wind seemed to chatter and then dashed off through the trees into a small clearing. While Kristoff, Olaf and Sven went off to inspect a few of the reindeer-sculptures, Anna and Elsa followed it, to find a statue of three figures standing amid the dimly-lit autumn poplars.

"That's…" Elsa began, as they came to a stunned stop.

"Mother and father," Anna finished. "And that must be her. The woman who saved them." They peered silently for a moment at the trio of figures. Their father had thrown his arm over his pregnant wife in a desperate act of protection, their eyes shut tight in a terrified cringe, while in front of them stood a Northuldran woman, her hand outstretched and gaze pointed upwards in an unspoken command. The long-vanished wind must have been full in her hair, which streamed back in icy locks from her brow.

"She was pregnant, too," Elsa noticed, walking forward and seeing the slight bump to the Northuldran woman's belly. "Mother never mentioned…"

"What's over here?" Kristoff called as he approached behind them, and then stopped dead. "Mother…?"

"I know," Anna agreed, peering at Idunna's face. "She looks so young…"

"No, Anna, that's–" The princess turned. Her fiancé had gone shell-shocked. "That's _my_ mother."

_"What?"_

Kristoff hurried forward, stopping before the woman and studying her face. Up close, the family resemblance was clear."Look…" Elsa circled the three frozen memories. "She's protecting them." She looked up at Kristoff. "A Northuldra woman with earth magic saved our parents. Your mother, Kristoff."

They met eyes for a moment, before Sven startled and a split-second later the humans heard what had spooked him: a hunting horn.

"There it is again!" Anna turned around nervously.

"Where did that come from?"

The birds in the trees began to sing anxiously as the sentient breeze which had attacked them rushed through the branches. The group began to back up. "Everyone, get behind me," Elsa instructed, raising her hands protectively. Anna grabbed an icy "sword" out of the hand of a soldier-sculpture as they took one step back and then another, the forest bushes rustling ominously. The horn sounded again, the source of the noise growing louder, and Elsa had just taken several quick steps back when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Anna suddenly scowl and rush forward.

She didn't even have time to call out her sister's name before Anna had swept aside the nearest bush and then scampered back, revealing a group of…people. Northuldran people, Elsa realized. The Northuldrans looked momentarily just as surprised to see Anna as Elsa felt to see them, before the leaders of the group—a young man and woman about her own age—narrowed their eyes and leapt forward, pointing their spears.

"Lower your weapon," the young woman ordered, advancing menacingly towards the princess. Anna gulped but gripped the sword tighter, stepping back. This woman looked all business, but before things could escalate, a ringing crash sounded behind them, and the group turned.

"And you lower yours." A group of men in tattered green uniforms was advancing through the trees, swords and crocus-emblazoned shields held at the ready.

"Arendellian soldiers?" Anna realized, stunned, but just as quickly the new arrivals were taken aback by the sudden presence of a third as an older woman with long white hair slipped out of the shadows.

"Threatening my people, Lieutenant?"

The head guard was clearly not having it. "Invading my dam space, Yelena?"

"...Why does that soldier look so familiar…?" Anna repeated, frowning and waving the sword around rather incautiously, prompting a worried look from Kristoff. He wasn't the only one who noticed; the young Northuldran man standing beside the woman currently holding Anna hostage took a step forward.

"You heard my sister. Lower your weapons."

"Ryder." The man looked up, startled, at the older woman across the way. "Have you got eyes to see, boy? Those are Arendellians; they're Lieutenant Matthias's people."

"Not all of them," the young man said, studying the group, and his eyes fixed directly on Kristoff. _"He's_ Northuldran." He took another step forward, pointing his spear at Anna. "Why are you with him? How did you get past the Mist!"

"Whoa, hey!" Kristoff stepped between them and knocked the spear out of the way. "Leave her out of this!"

"Why are you defending h– _ouch!"_ He abruptly dropped his spear as it froze over, stinging his hands, and then looked up.

The blonde woman in the blue dress was glaring him down. A stir of whispers went through the clearing. "But how did you…" the man whispered.

"That was magic," the head guard said, looking stunned, and then turned to the older woman. "Did you see that?"

"Of course I saw it," she snapped, stepping forward. "Ryder, I said that's enough." The young man looked a little chastened.

"Sorry, Gran-gran."

"So, an Arendellian with ice magic," the white-haired woman said, approaching with a half-inquisitive, half-suspicious frown. "That's not something you see every day." Elsa took a step back, narrowing her own eyes and half-raising her hands again, blue snowflakes beginning to dance around her fingers. The old woman scoffed. "Really, child, there's a lot more of us than there are of you. Don't embarrass yourself." She waved her fingers idly, and a little flame appeared over them. She gave a nod, and Elsa looked over her shoulder.

With little _fft-fft-fft!_ noises, three other Northuldrans—who, Elsa realized belatedly, were not carrying spears—lit hovering flames to life in their own palms. Two Northuldran women raised their hands, and chattering winds began to lace between their fingers. One man struck the butt of his spear to the ground and rocks began to shudder at his feet. Elsa looked back to the old woman, who was watching her calmly.

"Maybe you're used to being able to throw your weight around in Arendelle, but up here, you're outmatched, Queen Elsa."

The queen, wisely, lowered her hands. "How do you know who I am?"

"We've known about you for a long time. Lieutenant Matthias will want to make his acquaintances, I'm sure."

"Wait a minute." Anna looked over her shoulder, studying the older head guard behind her. He was tall and dark-skinned, with a heavy brow and graying in his beard and hair. "Lieutenant Matthias? You were one my father's personal guards! He said you died in the battle." She looked around at the trees above her. "You've survived in the North Forest all this time?"

"Your Majesties." He beat his sword on his shield again and then dropped to a knee, as did the four other soldiers behind him. "It is an honor to finally meet our sovereigns."

"And you," the older woman—Yelena, Kristoff remembered—asked, turning to him. "How do you know these people? How did you get Arendellians past the Mist?"

"I didn't. It...let them in. And I– Anna and I– that is, we–"

"Elder!" The whole group turned as another Northuldran man came running up to them and stopped, panting for breath. "Elder Yelena, you need to see this."

"What is it?" she asked sharply. "Can't you see we're in the middle of–"

"It's Rana." Kristoff's eyes went wide, and he looked down at the woman, who seemed to have frozen. Whispers were spreading through the crowd again, yet the woman didn't say a word. Instead she followed silently after the messenger into the forest, and the crowd moved alongside her back to the clearing where the frozen memories of the late King and Queen of Arendelle and their protector remained. The group filtered into the clearing and stood silently, staring at the statue. Yelena moved forward alone, raising a hand to the protective sculpture's face. When Kristoff approached beside her, she looked up.

"You're Rana and Juoksa's boy," she murmured, half-disbelieving. "You're Kristoff."

"You know my parents?"

"Know them? Rana was my daughter."

Anna and Elsa both sucked in stunned breaths, but Kristoff's shoulders slumped. "Was," he said. It wasn't a question. "Then…"

"I'm so sorry. They passed several years ago."

"But you." He gave a soft laugh, incredulous. "You're…"

The woman squinted at him with a proud half-smirk, tilting his chin up with her thumb. Kristoff looked amazed, though a little uncertain. "You're tall. Like your father was. But you have Rana's hair, and her eyes…" She stepped back. "I am Yelena, leader of this village and Head Elder of the Forest Council. Which, naturally, makes you…"

The dark-haired young woman with the spear gasped aloud and elbowed her brother. Immediately the two of them dropped to a knee, bowing their heads. "...My heir," the woman finished. Like a rippling wave, the rest of the gathered Northuldra also bent the knee; the Arendellian soldiers ducked their heads respectfully. Kristoff looked around, stunned, and then back to Yelena, who smiled. "We are the people of the Sun. Welcome home, Kristoff, son of Rana, prince of the Northuldra."

* * *

"So, you're engaged. That must be quite a story."

Lt. Matthias and Yelena had gathered with the small group around the cooking fire in front of Yelena's tent, along with the young Northuldran woman—whose name the group had learned was Honeymaren—and her brother Ryder. Matthias was watching Kristoff with a keen eye. "All the reports we've heard from Northuldrans who've come through the Mist say things have not gone well for them in Arendelle," the lieutenant added, and Kristoff shook his head.

"That's putting it lightly."

"Rana told us when she and Juoksa returned that she had helped the Arendellian queen deliver a child with white hair," Yelena said, studying Elsa. "Among the Northuldra that's a sign of water magic."

"Or age," Lt. Matthias volunteered, before adding in a stage whisper: "Yelena here used to be a redhead." The sisters giggled.

"Thank you, Matthias," the village elder said dryly, before returning to the topic at hand. "But it wasn't until someone came through the Mist last year that we heard anything more about a princess with magic. That tells me your parents tried to keep it a secret."

"They were afraid that any associations with Northuldran magic would affect my ability to rule," Elsa explained. "My grandfather's death was a national tragedy; people were angry and took their anger out on the Northuldra in our kingdom. My father feared they would do the same to me."

"So then how did you two end up together?" Honeymaren asked curiously, looking between Anna and Kristoff. Ryder was standing cross-armed beside her.

"Uh–" Kristoff glanced over at Anna. "It's kind of a long story."

"Can you summarize?"

"Uhh…"

"Ooh, let me! I got this!"

The people startled as Olaf hopped out from where he'd been standing behind a snoozing Sven, beaming at the small crowd. Matthias and Honeymaren clapped hands over their mouths; Yelena shot Elsa a shocked and half-disapproving look, which the queen returned with an awkward shrug.

"Olaf, where have you been?" Anna chastised. "You're not supposed to go running off on your own; it's dangerous out there!"

"But I didn't go running off on my own," he said innocently. "I went with Kristoff and Sven, and then they went off on their own without me."

Anna shot a dirty look at Kristoff, who rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we're glad you're safe now."

"I hear you need someone to tell a story. Well you see, it's all pretty simple," Olaf instructed Matthias politely, stepping gingerly around the fire despite his permafrost. "It began with two sisters…"

He ran through the story in full dramatics, to the audience of Yelena's increasingly annoyed deadpan and Matthias's deep investment. "–Then Anna freezes to death. Forever."

"Oh Anna," Matthias exclaimed tearfully, as Yelena raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

"Then she unfreezes!" Olaf exclaimed, and then added in a rush: "Oh and then Kristoff and Anna got engaged and Elsa woke up the magical spirits so we were forced out of our kingdom and now our only hope is to find a magic river, but we don't have a clue how to do that except that Kristoff's hearing voices so we got that going for us."

 _"One_ voice," Kristoff reassured Yelena, holding up his hands. "Just one. I'm not crazy."

"Wait, wait. You're hearing the Voice?" Yelena said, brushing this aside.

"The Voice? You know about it?" Elsa asked.

"The Voice of Truth." The group stared at her, and the village elder continued: "The Voice of Ahtohallan; old stories say that on rare occasions, the River of Memory calls certain people to explore its depths and find great truths, to bring back to the outside world."

"So Ahtohallan is a real place?" Anna questioned.

"Yes, it is—or so we've heard," said Matthias. "We only know of one person who's ever been there."

"What? No way; who?"

"A messenger who transports information between the villages," Honeymaren answered. "He's out on a run right now, but once he's back Lieutenant Matthias can introduce you."

"Yes," said the guard, though his voice was hesitant. "That's probably your best option." Anna cast him an uncertain look, but before she could inquire after this Yelena had spoken up:

"Your snowman says that you awakened the spirits. What do you mean by that?"

Elsa explained what had happened in Arendelle, with Yelena asking occasional questions. When she had finished, the woman was nodding thoughtfully. "My magic just...reacted, to what Kristoff was doing. I don't know why, it's never done that before."

"Well, that's probably the easiest question to answer out of all of this," Yelena said, poking the fire with a stick to rearrange the laws. "You're attracted to him."

"Wait, _what?!"_ Elsa and Kristoff demanded in unison, looking disturbed, but Yelena waved a hand.

"Not romantically—my word, you young people, so single-minded," she grumbled, and then resumed: "Your magic is drawn to him; Ahtohallan seeks to answer him."

"Ahtohallan seeks to answer…"

"Our magic is not our own." Yelena raised a hand, and a small tongue of flame appeared in her palm; it leapt from one palm into the other, changing shape and flickering along her fingers: a reindeer, a man, a sunburst. "The Four Spirits give us this power as a gift, but with that gift come duties to be fulfilled."

"But why couldn't I do anything to stop it? I've _lost_ control of my powers before, but this was different; it's like they escaped from me."

"You are arrogant if you believe you can order your magic around like a servant," Yelena said sharply; Elsa flushed. "We are not given these powers merely for our own good, but for the good of the people. What were you doing, when your magic, as you put it, 'escaped?'"

"I was sleeping," she argued. "I wasn't _doing_ anything."

"Hm. And when the Spirits attacked your kingdom?"

"I–" She stopped, looking away uncomfortably. Yelena raised her brows. "…I was trying to tell Kristoff to stop speaking in Northuldran," the queen admitted, shame-faced.

There was a beat of silence. "Well," Honeymaren said, crossing her arms. "That would do it."

Ryder scoffed and picked up his spear again. "Typical Arendellian."

"Ryder," Honeymaren warned, but her brother had already moved out of earshot.

"I was only trying to protect him," Elsa mumbled.

"Ice magic," the older woman said, nodding to herself. "Now that is interesting. I wonder–" She stood. "I need to talk to the Biegga sisters about sending out a certain wind spirit. We'll need our messenger back as soon as possible."

The head guard didn't look so certain. "Yelena, considering what we've learned–"

"If you have a better idea, Matthias, I would love to hear it."

The head guard relented. "Fair enough."

"Thank you." She left, with a determined expression on her face.

"She's…interesting," Kristoff commented, and Honeymaren giggled.

"That's Gran-gran for you. You'll get used to her." She looked over her shoulder. "I should probably go talk to Ryder."

"I'll do it," Kristoff said, standing. Anna squeezed his hand.

"Are you sure?" Honeymaren looked doubtful. "I mean, you did just meet, even if we are cousins."

"Kristoff, I'm the one he's upset with," Elsa added uncomfortably, but he shook his head.

"I think this has more to do with me and Anna than you." At her doubtful face, he added: "Trust me, Elsa, I know what I'm doing."

"Alright…"

They watched him go, and then Matthias turned to his sovereigns. "It is truly an honor, after all this time. We'd heard from those who crossed the mist that you'd become regent when my lord's ship went down in the south seas, but I never thought I would meet my monarchs face-to-face."

"The honor is all ours," Anna said warmly. "Father told us many stories about your loyalty and bravery. He said you were one of his most trustworthy guards."

Matthias's eyes shone. "Did he say that? Really?" The sisters nodded. "Well that is… certainly good to hear." He nodded over to the camp of four soldiers sitting around their own fire some ways off. "Would you like to meet the men?"

"Yes, please." The two sisters followed him over, and he introduced them. After much bowing and shaking of hands, Elsa decided to return to the campfire where Honeymaren was sitting, while Anna asked Matthias for a word alone.

As they walked along, the princess fidgeted with her hands a bit, while the guardsman watched her out of the corner of his eye. After a moment or two he cleared his throat. "Is there something I can help you with, Princess?"

"…I just…wanted to ask what it was like." She looked around the camp, a bit sadly. "I've never lived in a world where Arendellians and Northuldra were on good terms."

"Yes, we'd heard about what happened on the other side of the Mist." Matthias sighed. "The stories they tell in Arendelle, that's not how it really was."

"What do you mean?"

"The battle was a…confused, messy affair. I know Arendellians believe we were attacked unprovoked, but the truth is nobody really knows who started it. Yelena doesn't believe her people would ever have started a battle against honored guests, and I can't believe an Aredellian guard would ever attack innocent people unprovoked. So we're left at an impasse."

"But you seem to get along…"

"As much as we can. For several years after the Mist rose there was fighting, but then my men and I were injured during a battle with the stone giants."

"The stone giants?"

"Your father told you, I'm sure, how the four spirits attacked us before the Mist fell." Anna nodded. "Yelena says they were angered by the disharmony between us, and ever since then the spirits have been in disharmony, too. There are terrible storms in the winter; bad flooding every spring. In the summer when the sun dries out the forest, there are great fires that can rage for days at a time. Right now, in autumn, the stone giants wander the forest and cause destruction. My men and I were caught unawares by a moving herd some fifteen years ago and were badly injured in the fight."

"I see…"

"Yelena and her people could have left us there to die," he said, nodding thoughtfully, "but instead, they took care of us. After that, she and I came to an agreement: my men would keep the stone giants away from the village, and in exchange Yelena would convince the other villages to let us live on the area beside the dam, and she'd supply us with food and medicine from time to time. We came up with a saying: 'May the truth be found.'"

"And what will you do if it is?" Anna wondered, looking down at the camp as they stopped atop a hill. "What will you do if you ever find out who's really to blame?"

"The same thing we've tried to do for the last twenty years," Matthias said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll…straighten up, look life in the eyes, and try to do the next right thing. In the end, that's all you really can do."

Anna smiled a little despite herself. "Yeah. I guess that's true."

* * *

_[Screen notes: all the following is said in the Northuldran language, with SUBTITLES:]_

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

Ryder looked over his shoulder to see Kristoff standing a few paces off. "Oh. It's you." He went back to brushing the deer's coat. Kristoff walked over and leaned against a tree.

"You know, I'm a pretty easy guy to get along with. And I'll let you off the hook today since we were all pretty tense. But if you ever point a spear at my fiancée again, we're going to have trouble."

Ryder sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I panicked."

"Look, I get it," Kristoff admitted, approaching. "Believe me, I do. But not all Arendellians are bad people."

"But enough of them are." He turned to look at Kristoff, leaning against the deer's flank. "Whatever my sister might tell you, I don't hate Anredellians. But I sure don't trust them, either. Not after everything they've done to us."

"I guess I can understand that. But Anna and Elsa are good people; you can trust them."

The other young man bit his tongue for a moment, and then relented. "If you say we can trust them, then _I'll_ trust _you."_ He went back to brushing the reindeer. "I just don't like the idea of having an Arendellian princess in charge of my village."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're Yelena's heir, right? Honeymaren was going to be heir before, but now that you're here you're first in line, and that would make your wife a village elder."

"Oh." Kristoff approached and held out a hand. "May I?" Ryder passed him a spare brush, and Kristoff began brushing down the next reindeer, who huffed at him affectionately. "I'll be honest, this is all pretty new to me," he admitted. "I just got here and now everyone's telling me I'm a prince and bowing to me, and telling me I'm their future leader? I mean, I was prepared to be a prince, but back in Arendelle. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet—if we even can go back."

"Yeah." Ryder gave him a rueful smile. "I guess the Mist kind of made that choice for you, huh?"

"Hm." Kristoff grinned back and then patted the reindeer's nose; it snickered and butted against his hand. "So. This is the North Forest."

"Yup. What do you think of it so far?"

"It's…pretty amazing. I've never seen so many people with magic before."

Ryder laughed, the tension easing. "You haven't seen anything yet! You'd love the competitions at the winter meeting, when all the villages gather together. We have reindeer herding games and magic tournaments, and there's this huge market with the _best_ food."

"How many other villages are there?"

"More than half a dozen of them. Gran-gran is the Head Elder on the Council; I mean you can see why. She organized the festival last year, but this year it's Honeymaren's job; I think Gran-gran was training her up." He gestured to Kristoff. "That is, until you came along."

Kristoff didn't answer that. Instead he said, "I'd like to see that."

"Well, I got good news for you, cousin. Nobody gets out of that Mist, so unless you've got a plan for how to lift it, you're probably going to be sticking around here for a while."

Kristoff exhaled a little laugh, uncertain whether to admit that that wasn't a completely unpleasant idea. Everything he'd seen in the last few hours—the clothing, the reindeer-herding, the magic—it all felt so...familiar. For the first time in sixteen years, he was surrounded by words and clothing and traditions he could call his own. It felt like coming home again.

But then he thought about Anna, and Arendelle, and those felt like home, too.

* * *

"Hey." Honeymaren smiled up at the queen as Elsa returned to the cooking fire. "Isn't your sister coming back?"

Elsa shook her head. "She wanted to talk with Lieutenant Matthias. Where did Olaf go?" Honeymaren chuckled and nodded off to another tent, where the snowman was playing with the children in front of the fire. "Ah."

"I want to apologize for my brother's behavior," the other woman added as the queen turned back. "He's…not very fond of Arendelllians."

"I've noticed," Elsa said dryly.

"He has a reason," Honeymaren admitted. "It's not a good reason—there are no good reasons to hate people—but it does make sense." She gestured to the space beside her, and the queen sat down. "Our father was killed in the fight by Arendellian soldiers," Honeymaren explained. "Our mother died shortly after we were born, and when Father died we were left orphans. He wasn't a village fighter, either, but for some reason the Arendellian guards still attacked him. I was with Gran-gran at the time, but Ryder saw it happen."

"I'm…I'm sorry." The queen didn't know what else to say. "That must have been horrible." Honeymaren smiled sadly.

"I miss him. Father had water-magic, like you. You would have liked him."

"Why would Arendellian soldiers attack an unarmed man?" Elsa wondered aloud. "It doesn't make any sense; that's against everything we hold dear."

"I don't know. I've asked Lieutenant Matthias, and he doesn't know, either. But it happened, and Ryder…he can't move on. I don't blame him, but I can't agree with him, either."

"Why?" Elsa asked softly. "After what Arendellians took from you, and took from the other Northuldra in our kingdom…why don't you hate us?"

Honeymaren shrugged. "What other people did isn't your fault. From everything I've heard about Arendelle, it seems to me that Arendellians are just people. And, like most people," she sighed, "they just want their lives to be decently comfortable, and not have to question the way they act or think." Elsa looked away, uncomfortable, and the other woman added: "It's not just Arendelle; most people didn't think a woman could lead the Northuldra until Gran-gran took charge after our grandfather died. Most people aren't good or bad. They just want things to stay the same."

They fell into a silence as Elsa mulled this over, and then both looked up as a child holding a handful of fire rushed past them, chasing after his friend. Elsa smiled. "This is amazing. I've never seen so many people with magic before, people like me." She tilted her head. "My father told me there were Northuldran people who could enchant water with their magic, but I always wondered whether there was anyone else with ice powers."

Honeymaren hummed. "I've never heard of it. I'm not even really sure how it's possible. Here, let me show you something." Elsa looked on in interest as the woman untied a sash from around her waist which turned out to be a knitted red scarf and laid it over her knee. An embroidered symbol of the four diamonds stood out bright in the wash of firelight. "Earth, fire, air, and water," Honeymaren said, pointing to each in turn. "A balance of all four is necessary to sustain life.

"The earth nurtures us and gives us security and stability," she continued, tracing the diamonds with her finger. "Fire is the element of change; it is our greatest tool, the progress of man from darkness into light. Air is free and gives freedom, space, breath. And water is the heartbeat of life itself. Every living thing that has ever existed has been made from water; water marks the seasons through its different forms, and returns from river to clouds to rain again and again. It is the source of our traditions and our link to the past."

"I see…"

"But." Honeymaren held up a finger. "When one is missing, the spirits are not complete and are weaker as a result. Ever since the dam was constructed, nobody has been born with water magic anywhere in the forest. Gran-gran thinks it upset the balance of the spirits, but nobody realized it until it was too late and the Mist had descended. Nobody could go to Arendelle to speak with the king…with you."

"I'm so sorry. None of us ever knew."

"It's not your fault. It's just how things are." Honeymaren took off her hat to show Elsa a pale streak in her hair. "My brother and I were born while the dam was still being constructed. Perhaps if we had been born a little earlier, our hair would have looked more like yours."

"Wow…" Elsa sat back, a little awed. "But if people like your father had water magic, why would ice magic be so rare?"

"There are some limits to magic," Honeymaren explained. "Gran-gran says it's to keep us humble and grateful for the spirits' gifts." She began to tap off on her fingers: "Earth magic won't work on cut stone; fire magic has to be real fire, they can't do anything with sunshine or lightning. Air magic only works at close distances, and water magic can only use water already in its liquid form. I've never heard of anyone having ice magic before."

"Then why me? I was born after the dam was built, and I'm not even Northuldran…"

Honeymaren shrugged. "Alas, only Ahtohallan knows. Perhaps the spirits saw something special in you."

"Ahtohallan…" Elsa trailed off, looking down at the scarf. In the center of the four diamonds there lay a small, fifth square—a source. _"Dive down deep into her sound…"_

" _But not too far, or you'll be drowned,"_ Honeymaren finished with her in unison, solemnly, and then chuckled. "Why do lullabies always have to have some terrible warning in them?" Elsa laughed and shrugged.

" _Honeymaren!"_ The Northuldran woman looked up to see her brother waving her over. Kristoff was standing with him. "One of the deer got loose! We need your help!"

Honeymaren sighed and stood up. "Little siblings, am I right?"

Elsa giggled and covered her mouth. "Don't forget your scarf." She handed it up to the woman, but Honeymaren pushed it back into her hands.

"Keep it for now. Maybe it will help you find what you're looking for in Ahtohallan."

" _Honeymaren!"_

"Coming!" She gave the queen one last smile and then hurried away after her brother. Elsa watched them go, smiling faintly, and then looked down at the scarf. Her smile faded into a thoughtful expression as she lifted her palm, and a snowflake appeared and hovered in the air with a faint glow, before melting in the heat from the fire.

* * *

**-FFcrazy15**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

They had spent three days in the Northuldran village, waiting for Yelena's messenger to return. Elsa and Anna had been accepted by the village, partly, Elsa suspected, because of Kristoff's vouching for them. Although Anna had the privilege of being embraced by the community with open arms, the queen often found herself on the receiving end of dark looks, and she had taken to standing some distance apart, or staying close to Honeymaren and Yelena.

It was during one of these times, while she was helping Honeymaren repair a tear in a tent, that Kristoff approached her. "Elsa, there's somebody who wants to talk to you."

"Oh?" She straightened up and saw another Northuldran man standing behind him. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

It turned out that yes, something was very wrong. She listened to the man's story, feeling sicker all the while. "–We lost everything," he finished, "our farm, our house, even most of our animals. My family had lived in Arendelle for three generations, but none of that mattered."

"I'm so sorry."

"We sent petitions to the crown before we left. Three of them. We never received a reply."

Her voice stuck in her throat, and she looked down at the scarf in her hands. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I was…" She took a deep breath and looked up. "I was too afraid to leave the castle. That was why you never received an answer." The man pursed his lips and looked away, clearly not satisfied with this answer. "If we are able to return through the Mist, the crown will give you a new farm back in Arendelle–"

But the man shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we can't. Arendelle is no longer our home; the children have no good memories there. I just…wanted to know that you had heard us, heard what we had gone through."

Elsa didn't know what to say. The man stood up, gave a small dip of his head, and walked away. The queen turned to Kristoff, who had been mediating the exchange.

"It really was that bad...wasn't it."

Kristoff opened his mouth, and then shut it again with a sigh and a half-shrug. "It's easy not to see things, stuck inside a castle all day."

She knew he had been trying to make her feel better, but his words only made her feel guiltier still. The queen excused herself and took a walk through the forest by herself. The autumn evening was cool and peaceful, but inside her stomach was twisting itself into knots. She came through the last copse of trees to find herself on the cliff overlooking the canyon and the dam. Elsa braced her hand against a tree and sighed, peering at the edifice.

"Your Majesty." She looked over her shoulder to see a familiar guardsman. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Lt. Matthias." She looked back out over the gorge. "I needed some space to think."

Matthias nodded, and they stood in silence for a moment. "My father would have known how to handle this," Elsa murmured at last.

"Your father was a good man. He always tried to do right by Arendelle."

"And my grandfather?"

Matthias tilted his head. "He had a very strong personality—more of a hardliner than your father, less willing to bend. But he always put Arendelle first." The guard looked out at the dam again. "He gave his life for his kingdom—not far from here, in fact. May I show you something?"

Elsa followed him around the cliff's edge for a time to the edge of the dam, beside which there had been established a tall cairn of rocks, into the top of which had been stuck a rusted Arendellian sword. Flowers grew around the small monument, waving gently in the dying sunset. "This was where he fell," Matthias explained. "I'm afraid this is the best we could do for him."

"Crocuses," Elsa noted of the flowers. Matthias nodded.

"He believed in Arendelle—in her destiny and greatness. He believed in your father. And I'm sure," the guard added, turning to face her with a wry smile, "that he would have believed in you, too."

Elsa smiled back—and then, both of them startled and looked around as the ground began to shudder under their feet. "W-what was that?" the queen asked nervously.

"Stone giants," Matthias said grimly, scanning the quickly darkening sky . "Quick, we need to hide."

"Shouldn't we go back to the village–?"

"There's no time; quickly!"

Elsa hesitated, and then dove behind the cairn as she saw the silhouette of a hulking stone figure emerge from the trees. The ground shuddered beneath as she held her breath.

_Thud._

_Thud._

_Thud._

She looked sideways to where Matthias had pressed himself close to the dam. He held a finger to his lips.

_Thud._

_Thud._

A moving shadow fell over the cairn—over the queen. Could it see her? She hugged her knees closer.

_Thud._

The shadow stopped moving. Elsa squeezed her eyes tight, readying herself to fight, waiting for the cairn to be swept away— _the cairn._ Her eyes opened a crack, her vision sliding upwards. Just above and to the right of her head, she could see the blade of her grandfather's sword.

The shadow above her still hadn't moved. Slowly, she lifted her hand an inch, then two.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

Her hand froze.

In that moment, the sun slipped behind the opposite canyon ridge and cast the forest into darkness. The stone giant above her snuffled, growled, and moved on. She saw it tramp towards the path leading up to the dam, over the ridge and along the side of the lake. Two other giants followed.

When at last they were gone, Matthias peeled himself away from the dam wall. "Your Majesty! Are you alright?"

"I'm– I'm fine." She stood up shakily. Had she really heard it?

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

Her head turned northwards. Matthias watched her, concerned. "Your Majesty?"

Elsa made a snap decision. "I need to talk to Kristoff." She started back towards the trees, mind whirling. It was real. She hadn't imagined it. What was it Yelena had said? Sometimes the River of Memory called people to find great truths? But if she wasn't Northuldran–

Matthias realized it before she did, trailing behind her. "Snow," he observed, lifting a hand to catch one of the falling flakes. He peered down at it in surprise, and it wasn't until Elsa reached out and caught one that she realized why:

Rather than six identical arms, the snowflake in her hand was composed of four tiny diamonds...etched with the symbols of Ahtohallan.

* * *

"Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?"

Yelena's hushed voice carried throughout the darkened village as she made her way from one doused fire to another, Honeymaren and Ryder following behind. Kristofff and Anna were hovering anxiously at the edge of the tents. "We need to go search for her," Anna argued. "She could be in danger; we saw the giants change course–"

"Elsa is probably fine; we should wait until Yelena gives us the all-clear," Kristoff soothed her.

Anna still looked upset, but was relieved of this a moment later when Yelena said, "Matthias!" The head guard had emerged from the trees, with Elsa in tow; Yelena hurried up to them, checking them over for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Yelena," Matthias reassured her, before being cut off by a tearful Anna launching herself at her sister.

"We were so worried! When the giants headed towards the river–"

Elsa laughed and stroked her hair. "I'm okay, Anna." She drew back and grasped her hands, growing serious. "But there's something I need to tell you, both of you."

She sat them down by the snuffed fire and explained in an undertone what had happened. When she was finished, Kristoff was frowning and Anna was gripping her hand. "You heard the Voice? Really?"

"Are you sure that's what it was?" Kristoff demanded. Elsa imitated the four notes of the herding call, and he nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

"If both of you are hearing voices, then maybe that's a sign we need to hurry things up," Anna reasoned anxiously.

"I think you're probably right." They looked up to see Matthias and Yelena approaching the camp. "We overheard," Yelena explained, waving her hand; the fire in front of them burst to life with a golden blaze. "If the Voice has grown more urgent, then you cannot put it off any longer."

"What about the messenger?" Anna asked.

"He should be here by tomorrow afternoon. You can leave the morning after."

The three looked at each other. "Alright," Elsa agreed. "In two days…we'll set out for Ahtohallan."

* * *

Late the next morning a village scout brought news that the messenger's ship had been spotted coming up the river. "He has a ship?" Anna said Matthias with interest, as the group finished their lunch. "I didn't think the Northuldra used big ships."

"They don't," Matthias explained. "He's not Northuldran."

Elsa set down her bowl in surprise. "I thought Arendellians couldn't get through the Mist?"

"He's…not Arendellian, either," Matthias said hesitantly. The three peered at him expectantly, and he continued: "He's a sailor—former navy man, shipwrecked here about a year ago. From the, ah…" he winced, "Southern Isles?"

There was a long silence.

"Please tell me you're joking," Anna said at last. Matthias shook his head. "Oh, no. No, no way…"

"Prince Hans is here?" Elsa demanded. "Prince Hans Westergård, of the Southern Isles? That Prince Hans?"

"I don't think he's a prince anymore, but yes, I'm pretty sure that's the man." They gaped at him, and Matthias held up his hands, "I swear, we didn't know anything about what he'd done before your snowman told us the story."

"You knew _who_ he was at the beginning of the story; how did you think we ended up together?" Kristoff demanded, gesturing to Anna.

"I assumed you found true love!"

"There is no way we are asking Prince Sideburns for help," Anna insisted.

"Unless you have a ship capable of crossing the Dark Sea, your Highness, I'm not sure you have many other options," Matthias pointed out. Anna fumed. "Listen, let me talk to him. I'm certain he'll help you if Yelena and I ask him to."

"Yeah, or drown us in the ocean," Anna muttered darkly. Matthias spread his hands as if asking her what she wanted him to do, and the princess sighed. "Fine. If he's our only choice…then he's our only choice."

They made their way down to the bank of the river after breakfast; the small ship was not far off now, and they could see its white sails pulling it upstream against the current in an unusually brisk breeze. "You three stay back here," Matthias advised them, gesturing towards a rocky outcrop not far away. "Let me talk to him first."

"Why do we have to hide? He's the one who should be hiding," Anna grumbled, but did as asked. They pulled back behind the rock, and peered around the edge, in three pairs of vertically stacked eyes, as the ship approached the bank. There was the splash of an anchor dropping on the other side of the boat, and then a redheaded figure appeared over the top of the bulwark, silhouetted against the sun.

"Lieutenant?" they heard a voice call.

"Can I come aboard?" A gangplank was lowered, and the sailor helped the guard aboard. When he had, the guard clapped the redhead on the shoulder as if they were old friends. "Westergård. How was the journey?"

"Lieutenant Matthias. Now you're a sight for sore eyes." The trademark easy laugh drifted over to the trio behind the cliff, and Anna's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How's Yelena? You two ever going to get around to pitching a tent and settling down?"

"Yelena," answered Matthias, "is as stubborn as always and, I'll remind you, a widow _and_ the Head Elder of the Northuldra."

"Whereas you are the captain of an Arendellian guard troop lost in the North Forest for what, twenty years?" The redhead planted his hands on his waist and gave the older man his trademark smirk. "I say let bygones be bygones. You could do worse than a chieftainess, too; take a chance and move up in the world! Besides, it'd give the rest of us an excuse to throw a party."

"You really don't quit, do you."

"No, I don't, and more to the point I think you're very compatible people."

Lieutenant Matthias rolled his eyes. "Even if Yelena and I were interested in…pursuing that avenue–" the sailor snickered, "–there would still be obstacles, some of them insurmountable. Things are the way they are, for reasons beyond any two individuals. You'll understand once you've been here longer."

"I doubt that. And I don't intend to stay trapped here for very long."

"Hm. And how goes your search for a way out?"

"I'll find it," the sailor vowed, "don't you worry about that." Before the older man could object, the redhead cut him off: "So what's the big hurry? Yelena's little wind-spirit practically dragged me out of my cabin last night; wouldn't let up until I got the sails moving." Matthias hesitated, and the redhead's face fell. "I know that look. What's happened."

"We need you to sail north again. To the Dark Sea."

"What?!" The sailor looked exasperated. "Matthias, I almost got killed last time; don't you think I would have left this place a long time ago if I felt like risking my life to the Dark Sea?"

"This is important, Westergård."

"How important can it–"

Matthias stepped aside and nodded to indicate the beach. Sensing this was their cue, Elsa slowly stepped out from behind the rock. Anna and Kristoff followed.

Hans stared at them for a moment, gape-mouthed. Then he turned back to Matthias.

"Absolutely not."

"At least hear me out."

"I'm sure they've told you by now we've got a history–"

"That's not exactly their fault."

"Look at their faces, they hate me–"

"Which means," Matthias said, setting a hand on his shoulder, "That you owe them a favor." Hans bit his tongue and looked away. Then he sighed.

"Fine." He pointed a finger at the guard. "But only because I owe Yelena for saving my life. And if they throw me overboard I swear, I will haunt you from my watery grave."

"Fair enough."

Hans walked over to the gangplank, peering over at the three of them. It was the first good look the group had gotten of him; his red hair was longer, tied back in a ponytail, and his sideburns had grown out into a proper beard. His regal clothing was gone, too, replaced by a white linen shirt and woolen breeches. He glared at them, annoyed, and then jerked his head. "Get on the boat."

Unsure what to say, the trio clambered aboard. When they stepped down onto the deck they found that the former prince had stepped further away, arms crossed and looking distinctly uncomfortable. Up close and in the sunlight, Elsa suddenly noticed that there was a small but unmistakable streak of pale hair at his left temple.

Anna, who apparently hadn't noticed, mirrored his position, lifting her nose into the air. "Hans."

He shot her a glance and sighed. "You're going to drag this out, aren't you."

"Ooh, _absolutely."_

"Anna," Elsa reproved, and her sister simmered down. The queen stepped forward. "Prince Hans–"

"Hans."

"What?"

"I'm not a prince anymore; my family disowned me, if you recall. So it's just Hans. Or Westergård, if you prefer."

"If you've been disowned, doesn't that mean you're not a Westergård, either?" Kristoff pointed out, but Hans shot him such a dark look that the ice-harvester decided not to pursue that line of questioning further.

"Who are you, anyway? I don't recognize you."

"He's my fiancé," Anna said coolly. "His name is Kristoff. He was the one who brought me back from the North Mountain. You know, when I was freezing to death?"

"He's also Yelena's grandson," Matthias offered, playing peacekeeper. Hans glanced at him in surprise and then back to the mountain man.

"Well. That's not terribly convenient, is it." He looked at Elsa. "Doesn't Arendelle have a thing against the Northuldra?"

"We're not all so intolerant."

"Maybe not." He looked back to Kristoff with a wry smirk. "But I bet you were all going to keep that pretty hush-hush. How very forward-thinking." Kristoff pinked. "Well, I imagine Anna's already pretty well cemented your opinion of me–"

"You could say that," Kristoff said flatly. Hans paused and gave a nod.

"Well, whatever she's told you, it's all true. Hate me at your leisure, but I'll need your help if we're going to get through the Dark Sea—which we are doing why, exactly, Matthias? You haven't explained what this whole suicide mission is about."

"They need to go to Ahtohallan."

Hans's eyes widened. "They need to go to the glacier?"

"Glacier," Anna said, confused, but Elsa's eyes had lit up.

"Of course. A glacier is a frozen river." Urgently she asked Hans: "Where is this glacier?"

"In the middle of the ocean."

"But how did you _find_ it?"

Hans looked between them and Matthias, biting his tongue and clearly weighing his options. At last, he said, "Ahtohallan saved my life."

"What?"

"Well, it also almost killed me, but that's beside the point."

_The foaming black wave washed over the bulwark as the sails strained against the wind. The sailor fought with the wheel, freezing rain in his face. The boat careened badly as a fork of lightning split the sky._

"I had been caught in several storms and blown far off-course—into the heart of the Dark Sea. But the last storm was the worst; the ship was taking on water and the winds kept changing. I didn't know if I would make it out alive."

_Another wave swelled over the sides, and swept the sailor off his feet. He scrambled for purchase and hauled himself up against the wheel, terror in every line of his face._

"But then I heard this…voice."

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

"It was so clear, I was sure I hadn't imagined it."

_The sailor peered blindly into the oncoming waves, beads of seawater rolling down his face._

"I had nothing to lose, so I sailed towards it and found this glacier, in the middle of the sea. The waters around it were peaceful; it was like the storm couldn't touch it."

_The waves foamed and crashed in a ring around the massive glacier, which glowed an ethereal white against the black sea, the water around it unnaturally peaceful and gleaming faintly blue. The boat slipped out of the storm-wracked waves into the small island of peace, and the sailor uncertainly guided the ship next to the white ice. And again, the voice called…_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

"I knew that I was seeing magic again. Honestly, your Majesty, I thought you had something to do with it."

"Why?"

"It had…similar effects."

_The man approached the glacier-side bulwark, curiously, and stuck his hand out—but the moment he did, solid ice began to fractal over his gloves. He yanked his hand back and watched the glove turn back to normal cloth._

"It was so cold there it nearly killed me, but it was better than the storm. I waited there until the squall had passed and then sailed south. By the time I reached the coast I was in a bad way, but Yelena and her people helped me. I've been here ever since."

The memories faded from before his eyes as he finished his tale, and the four were silent for a moment, before Kristoff asked: "And you're sure you can find your way back."

"I know I can—provided we're not sunk in a storm."

"How?"

"Because it's been calling me ever since," the redhead said simply.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

Three heads turned. The former prince cupped his hands around his mouth and called back:

"Ah-ah, ah-ah– _ayh!"_

His voice echoed through the hills a moment and then dissipated. A moment later, the haunting distant call replied in kind. Elsa nodded, stunned. "You can hear the Voice…"

Anna let out a noise of frustration. "Of course. Of course! Because out of _everyone_ who deserves to be called by the Four Spirits of Nature, _you're_ clearly worthy!" She stormed away to the edge of the boat, much to Hans's bewilderment, and he turned to Elsa.

"What's up with her?"

"Other than you breaking her heart and trying to murder her?" the queen said icily.

"Yes, other than that."

"She can't hear the Voice." He turned to Kristoff, who had spoken. "Elsa and I can, but Anna doesn't."

Hans chuckled. "No wonder she's so annoyed."

"If the Voice has been calling you, why haven't you gone back?" Elsa challenged.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Ahtohallan is a glacier in the heart of the Dark Sea; it's the coldest place I've ever been—and that includes your little cold snap in Arendelle. I couldn't survive there for long enough to find whatever it is I'm supposed to be looking for." He gestured to her. "Until now."

"Sorry?"

"Oh, come on. Isn't it obvious? I've got my sails to get us there, _he's_ got the ancestral rights–" He nodded to Kristoff appreciatively, "–to get us in, you have your ice to protect us from the cold," Elsa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "and Anna—well, I'll be honest, I don't know why Anna would be necessary. Maybe she isn't, and that's why she can't hear the voice. Either way, clearly I've been waiting for you to get here without knowing it. Maybe now I can fulfill whatever magical quest I've gotten stuck on and leave."

"So then we're agreed," Matthias interjected smoothly. "You'll take them to Ahtohallan? Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Hans looked around at them. Anna was glaring at him from near the gangplank. Queen Elsa and the fiancé—Yelena's grandson, he reminded himself, so this man also outranked him—were watching him coolly. The fiancé had crossed his arms. Hans sighed. "I don't suppose there's another option?"

"If there were, do you think we'd be asking you?" Queen Elsa replied coolly. The sailor gave a curt nod.

"Alright then." With abrupt professionalism he took a silver compass out of his pocket and snapped it open. "Winds are blowing the right direction. I imagine you don't want to sleep here tonight, so I'll dock here while you three go back to Yelena's village. We'll leave at dawn tomorrow."

"Glad to hear it," Matthias said brightly, clapping him on the shoulder and then heading towards the gangplank. "Your Majesty, Highnesses, I will have my men prepare your belongings for the journey–"

"Lieutenant Matthias," Hans interjected, and the man turned back. "May I have a word with them? Alone?"

Matthias glanced around at the monarchs and then back to the sailor. His back straightened and his expression noticeably cooled. "I _am_ still a royal guardsman of the House of Arendelle."

"I know what they've told you. Please. Just five minutes."

Matthias glanced at Elsa, who gave him a silent nod. The dismissed guard bowed his head and left. When he was gone, Anna approached again with suspicion in her eyes. "You'd better not be thinking of trying anything," she vowed, "because if you are, Elsa will–"

"There's something you two need to know, before we leave."

Anna fell silent. The sailor rubbed the back of his neck, and then sighed. "I haven't told the Lieutenant yet, but you have a right to know." He was looking directly at the sisters, mouth tight, but not with anger. If anything, Elsa thought, he seemed…nervous. "Wait here." They watched as he disappeared down into the hull and then looked at each other, bewildered.

"He looked so serious; I wonder what it could be," Elsa murmured. Anna sniffed.

"Whatever he's about to say, don't trust him. He's a master manipulator."

They fell silent as they heard footsteps and the grunt of a man carrying something slightly heavy up the steps, and Hans reappeared, a small chest in his arms. Anna crossed her arms as he approached and set the chest down in front of them. Ignoring the hostilities, Elsa knelt down to open it, her hand lighting on the latch of the chest.

"I'm sorry." She looked up, surprised. Hans met her eyes briefly, and then looked away. "That you had to hear this from me, I mean. I'm sorry, I really am."

Eyes narrowing in anxious confusion, she looked back down at the latch, and flipped it open with trepidation.

The chest was nearly empty; she caught a glimpse of something metallic—actually, several somethings—before Kristoff moved aside to let in the sunlight, and she heard Anna let out a low gasp, and felt her heart stop dead.

With trembling hands, she reached into the chest and withdrew the tiara. The three sterling silver crocus leaves and set amethyst stones glittered faintly in the sunlight, before tiny crystals of frost began to creep across them.

"M-Mother?"

Anna's soft, almost whimpered question drew the queen out from herself, and she silently passed the tiara to her sister. Reaching into the chest, she removed several naval service pins and her father's Arendelle Cross medallion. They had, she noticed, had been cleaned and burnished to shining.

_"How did you get this?"_

Anna's voice was shaken with fury. When Elsa looked up she saw her sister seething at the prince, face tight with sheer hatred. Hans had crossed his arms, looking down at the deck.

"Their ship is washed up on the coastline some ways north of here. I came across it while sailing a little while back. I think it must have gone down somewhere close to here."

"That's not true." Anna's voice shook. "They were heading to a wedding in Corona."

"I can't help what's true and what's not, Anna."

Her sister fell mute, seemingly caught in a storm of emotion. Elsa, numb, spoke up: "You took these from the wreck?"

"I recognized the standard."

_The ex-prince guided his boat along the beach, watching the weather-bleached green-and-violet flag fluttering in the wind. His boots did not sink into the rocky shore as he approached and peered up at the twisted timbers, dwarfed by the hull of the boat._

"It didn't take a genius to figure out whose ship it had been. I looked for them, I promise you. I was going to give them a proper burial."

_He picked through the wreckage: overturned barrels, broken mirrors. Snapped masts._

"But they weren't there. This was all I could find."

_A gleam of something silver caught his eye, and he knelt down, shifting aside a broken board. The tiara glittered up at him, amid several dully-glimmering naval decorations._

"You _monster!"_

Hans scrambled back as Anna lunged at him, Kristoff catching her by the arms. "You couldn't just leave them alone, could you! What did you do, pillage the whole wreck?! You– you–!"

"I took these back with me to give them to you!" Anna heaved for breath, tears brimming in her red eyes. "I didn't know if I'd ever find a way past the Mist, but if I did I wanted to be ready! These were the only things I took. You have my word."

"Your word." She gave a choked little laugh and the fight seemed to leech out of her. Kristoff drew her in and she started to cry into his shoulder.

"You were going to bring them to us?" Elsa asked, almost distantly. "Even though that would mean coming back to Arendelle?" Hans nodded. "Why?"

"Anna told me you weren't able to bury them," he said simply. "I could tell from the way she talked about them that they loved you." Elsa looked away. "In the navy when a man is lost at sea, you bring his effects back to his family. I owed you at least that much."

Anna was still crying silently into Kristoff's chest, the tiara clutched between them to her heart. The queen looked down at the badges in her hands. The old medals gleamed up at her. She had a sudden vision of her former assassin hunched over by lamplight, carefully polishing the last remaining effects of another naval officer and his wife. She looked up.

"Take us to the wreck. Tomorrow."

* * *

They told Lieutenant Matthias what they'd learned that afternoon, after coming terms with it themselves. The guard studied the remains for a while, and then said he would take a walk on his own. He didn't come back for quite some time, and the sisters were left to make the best of their final night in Yelena's village.

Hans appeared shortly before dinner, moving to and from the ship as he carried things to restock it. Matthias's men eventually helped out, though they didn't seem too happy with the situation. When the restocking was through, Anna watched the ex-prince interacting with the villagers with suspicion. "He acts like he belongs here."

"He's been living here for almost a year, Anna, what did you expect?" Elsa replied matter-of-factly, though she too was curious. Anna sniffed and then spotted Kristoff talking with Ryder and Honeymaren, and went off to join him, immediately in a better mood. The queen hovered around the outside of the peaceful goings-on of the village, keeping an eye on the prince. Her curiosity finally demanded answers when she saw Yelena approach the sailor while he was helping one of the villagers carry a bundle of brambles over to the fire. When he set down the bundle and turned to see the village elder standing in front of him, Elsa watched his expression go from relaxed to shame-faced in a matter of seconds.

He and Yelena stepped off to the side to talk privately, and although the Queen couldn't hear their conversation, she saw the unmistakable way his shoulders hunched and his gaze fell to the ground as he spoke. When Yelena said something and he looked up in surprise and then relief, the queen rose to her feet and went off to find Lt. Matthias.

She found him sitting next to the cairn with her grandfather's sword, looking out over the dam in the night. The gray stone glimmered in the autumn moonlight. "Lieutenant. Are you alright?"

"Your Majesty." He looked back over his shoulder at her with a wistful smile. "Yes…yes, I think I am." She sat down beside him. "I'm just…confused."

"What in the world could they have been doing up here?" Elsa wondered aloud. Matthias shook his head.

"Perhaps they were searching for the Northuldra—or for any of us who had survived the battle. Although why they would have lied about it, I can't say…"

He trailed off. Elsa gave a slow nod. "Are you angry? I mean at Pr– at Mr. Westergård, for hiding the truth from you."

But the Lieutenant shook his head. "He explained his reasons, and although I wish he had been honest, I do understand them."

"After what we told you, why do you and Yelena still trust him?"

Matthias sat back and crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression. "Westergård is a…distinctive name. And that red hair, well, it's trademark for the Southern royal family." Elsa nodded, still confused. "When Johannes Westergård's ship first washed up on the shore, the man we met was near death."

_Yelena watched on as Matthias half-helped, half-carried the sick man down the gangplank. The sailor's red hair was liberally streaked with white, and frost had stiffened his fingers under his grey overcoat._

"He was delirious, half-frozen—literally. His arms and legs were turning to solid ice. We tried to keep him warm, but the best we could do was slow the ice's progress. He kept rambling about how it was useless, how only 'an act of true love' could save him, which he seemed to believe was impossible. While we were trying to save him, he gave into despair—told us he had led a wicked life and didn't deserve to live."

"What did you do?"

_The line of flames tracing the man's body flickered and danced, casting the tent in a warm golden glow. The white-haired woman murmured low soothing words in a foreign language as she continued her ministrations._

"Yelena called him a fool and kept the fires around him burning for three days and nights without rest—no easy task for a woman her age, I can tell you. Eventually the ice retreated, except for the pale streak in his hair." Matthias shrugged. "I knew from his name that he was a prince and that he'd likely been exiled, but Yelena and I decided not to pry. After he recovered he became very loyal to her and the village."

"And you never wondered what he'd done?"

"He seemed like he needed a fresh start. Yelena decided to give it to him when she saved his life. He was the one who told us about you, actually—although he phrased it as if it were an international incident he'd read about in the papers."

"And you trust him," Elsa said dubiously. Matthias shrugged.

"I do. Whether you people want to is up to you." He stood up and dusted off his hands on his knees. "Supper's almost ready. We should eat."

Elsa nodded and stood, silently thoughtful as they walked back towards the trees. So, her parents had come north—had lied to them, had died and taken that lie to their grave. Why? What was it they'd been trying to hide? What secret had been so dangerous they couldn't tell their own daughters—their kingdom's future queen?

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

She looked over her shoulder as the frozen call echoed over the canyon. Less dramatically this time, a swirl of ice obeyed the call, a snowflake-shaped patch of frost blooming beneath her shoes with the longest point crackling northwards over the dying autumn grass. Then there was silence. She turned around and followed Matthias back to the camp.

* * *

The Northuldra who had magic were good at it. _Really_ good. Kristoff had seen powerful magic before, of course, first with his mother and then with his sister-in-law-to-be, to say nothing of what the trolls could do. But power was one thing; precision was another.

With the stone giants wandering the area, the magic-users of the village were careful to keep their dwelling safe. Kristoff watched in awe as, on the coaxing requests of the earth-enchanters, the trees over the hollow where the village was staying grew and bloomed in flowers and leaves, branches tendriling outwards and weaving together to form a shell of foliage. Thus protected, Yelena had set little flickering lights, like the kind he'd seen every night in the street lamps in Arendelle, to hover in regular intervals over the pathways leading between the tents. A soft yet ceaseless patter of wind and rain beyond the branches told him that the noises of the village were being masked by soft autumn showers crafted by the air-enchanters, hiding them under the cover of the night and darkness inside their warm and well-lit cocoon. It was a remarkable sight to see.

He and Anna had gravitated towards Rider and Honeymaren, the former of whom seemed to be warming up to Anna a little more. Yelena finished her check on the rest of the village and then came to join them, as they had been loitering in front of her tent. "Westergård has given his report," she informed her grandchildren; Honeymaren in particular perked up with interest. "The other villages have been reporting more anxiety among the forest spirits as well. They're growing restless; the other elders seem to think something is coming."

"Or is already here," Ryder said, nodding to Anna and Kristoff. The blond blushed.

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to cause trouble."

But Yelena waved her hand. "Don't be ridiculous. We're glad you're here."

Their conversation cut off as one of the village women approached. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Yelena, could we get your help? There's some sort of argument going on with the Biegga sisters, you know how stubborn they both are–"

"We'll settle it," Honeymaren volunteered, standing up. "Ryder, come on."

The two siblings left, leaving Kristoff and Anna alone with Yelena. The princess was still watching a particular sailor out of the corner of her eye, who was sitting alone at his own fire some ways away. Kristoff followed her gaze. "If you want to go talk to him, just do it."

"No. No, I'm good." She turned back to Yelena, but her eyes sidled sideways again. "Okay, maybe I do want to, just a little."

"Want me to go with you?"

"No, I can handle him." She stood up, leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, and then stalked off in the ex-prince's direction. Yelena chuckled lowly as she guided the flames onto a log that was having trouble burning.

"That girl has some fire in her," she commented in their own language.

"She's one of a kind, alright." Kristoff smiled fondly, watching Anna approach the ex-prince's campfire, and then turned back to his grandmother. "Reminds me of my ma."

Yelena smiled sadly and watched as the log began to burn. "Ryder and Honeymaren's father was my only son; when we couldn't find Rana after the battle, I thought I had lost both my children and my husband at once. Having her back for those years was…a balm to my heart." She met her grandson's eyes. "Yet at the same time, I knew from experience how much she missed you."

"What were they like? I mean, I remember them, but I was just a kid…"

"Hm." Yelena peered into the fire; as she did, Kristoff saw figures begin to appear among the flames. "Your father was a quiet man. Gentle, a peacemaker." A silhouette of a tall, broad-shouldered man appeared in the flames and then vanished. "Your mother was more stubborn, but braver, too; she protected those who could not protect themselves." A woman with blooming trees appeared, and then vanished again into the flames as the flowers petaled away; one of them landed on Kristoff's sleeve and revealed itself to actually be an ember. Yelena nodded to the lute sitting next to him on the ground. "She made that, you know. You see how there's no fastenings? It's a solid piece; she grew it from a tree and crafted it herself. The decorations on the back, they aren't carved; she coaxed the wood itself to form that way. She understood and respected the gift of her magic, in a way many never do."

Kristoff had picked up the lute and ran his fingers along the etchings in the back, not sure what to say. "She would have made an excellent leader for the village," Yelena sighed, the happy memories fading.

"Ryder said Honeymaren was next in line, before I got here."

"She was."

"And she's willing to just…give it all up to me? Just like that?"

"Honeymaren knows her duties. She will do what's best for the village," Yelena replied. When Kristoff didn't answer, she tilted her head, studying her grandson. Kristoff didn't look up, and the older woman's face softened as she looked back into the fire. "I miss my children, my husband. But those who loved us in this life don't abandon us after their deaths." Kristoff looked up at her. "There are bonds of love that not even death can break," Yelena assured him, and in the crackling flames a ring of figures appeared, some bright, some half-translucent—an unbroken community of the living and the dead. "Your parents are still with you, looking after you and guiding you."

Kristoff looked down at the lute again, and the village elder saw the new sense of peace in his face. Turning the lute back over, he plucked four distinct chords, ringing out into the warm and rain-swept night.

* * *

Hans Westergård, formerly Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, was not in the least surprised when Her Highness Princess Anna of Arendelle approached him with a look as cold as her sister's ice. He was only surprised that she hadn't done it sooner.

He was, however, surprised when Anna plopped herself down next to him rather than continue to tower over him, turned not towards the fire but towards him. Her blue-green gaze seemed to pierce through his skin like a surgeon's scalpel, and without fully realizing it he hunched his shoulders and flickered his gaze between her and the fire. The tension rose considerably higher with each second that Anna didn't speak.

Eventually he broke first. "Is there something I can help you with, Princess?"

"Don't 'Princess' me." He shut his mouth. "I know who you are, Prince Hans–"

"Not a prince."

"–And I know what you can do," Anna finished. "You might have everyone else around here fooled, but you won't fool me."

Hans straightened up and forced himself to meet her eyes. "I tricked you into falling in love with me, broke your heart, left you for dead, and tried to murder your only remaining family," he stated bluntly. "This isn't an act, Anna. This is everything I have left. And if you want to tell everyone here my little secret, go ahead. I have no right to stop you."

The princess ignored this. "I want to know how you got here."

"I told you, I got caught in a storm–"

"Your family told us your sentence was manual labor," Anna interrupted coolly, "not exile. And they _definitely_ didn't tell us you'd gone missing in the Dark Sea."

"I'm not surprised. Would you want the embarrassment of admitting your regicidal son had suddenly vanished off the face of the earth?"

"So I guess they're all lying snakes like you, then?"

"Where do you think I learned it?" he said with grim bemusement. She didn't answer, and he looked away again, taking his compass out of his pocket and shining it on his shirt. "I'm not proud of what I did in Arendelle, but dwelling on it wasn't going to fix things. Yelena and Lt. Matthias saved my life; ever since then I've been looking for a way out, for all of us—one that doesn't involve trying to sail across the Dark Sea, anyway." He studied the compass, apparently decided it was polished enough, and put it back in his pocket. "In the meantime I sail around the coastline here, mapping it. Along the way I run messages and goods between Yelena's people and the other villages. In return, they give me supplies to take with me while I'm sailing. Everyone's got to make a living somehow."

"In other words, you fooled all these nice people into thinking you were some poor stranded sailor. You lied to them to make yourself look good, just like you did in Arendelle!"

"I didn't lie to anyone, Anna, I just didn't tell them the whole truth."

"That's just as bad! What about Lieutenant Matthias; you didn't even tell him the truth about our parents' deaths! You _knew_ how loyal he was to my father, but you still lied to his face–!"

"I didn't lie to the Lieutenant!" Anna looked infuriated at being interrupted, and Hans sighed. "I just hadn't worked out how to tell him. I only found the wreck a few weeks back; I knew your parents were supposed to have died in the South Sea, and I'd told him as much when I first got here, so finding their ship here—it was going to devastate him, especially if we couldn't figure out why. I didn't know how to break the news yet."

"And I'm supposed to believe you didn't have some other devious reason?"

"You know, I've changed a lot since you last saw me. Self-growth? Newfound maturity and sense of empathy?" Anna gave him a deadpan, and the sailor rolled his eyes. "What I mean to say is that I'm not completely heartless."

"Could have fooled me."

He opened his mouth to defend himself, and then seemed to think better of it. Anna was surprised to find he looked appropriately chastened. "You're right, and I deserve that. Anna–"

_"Your Highness."_

She got some vindictive pleasure out of seeing him swallow the bitter gall of her outranking him. "Your Highness. You have every right to hate me, but if you want to get to the glacier then I do need you to trust me, at least on this. We won't reach it otherwise. I'm not a fan of this arrangement either, but I'd like to be able to leave this place eventually and currently, your fiancé is my best shot. So." He stood and held out a hand. 'Can we work together on this?"

Anna watched him coolly for a moment, and then stood up, ignoring the hand and dusting her palms off on her skirt. Hans withdrew it.

"We can cooperate. Temporarily. For Kristoff." She took a step back. "If you'll excuse me, _Mr. Westergård,_ he's much better company than you."

Hans watched her begin to walk, and then, seemingly unable to help himself, suddenly began: "Anna, I'm s–"

She turned around so fast that he took a step back, intimidated. Her blue-green eyes were narrowed—just _daring_ him to continue. Whatever words he'd held in his mouth died there unspoken.

"…I'm sorry about your parents," he finished at last. "Your Highness. I know how hard it was on you to lose them." Anna regarded him for a long moment, face unchanged.

"You have something in common with them," she said at last, and turned to leave. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, and he caught the unmistakable notes of _hurt,_ despite her best efforts to sound bitter:

"You both lied to me, about everything."

Hans didn't answer. Anna stood there a moment longer, fists stiffly clenched, and then left.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

The four of them and Olaf took their leave of the Northuldran village the next morning. Yelena, Matthias and several of their people came to see them off, including the four Arendellian guards and Ryder and Honeymaren. "Stay safe," Honeymaren urged them. "Remember the lullaby's warning: don't dive too deep, follow the sound of the call."

"Ahtohallan is wiser than we are," Yelena added. "Trust the spirits' judgement."

"We'll be careful," Elsa reassured them, knotting the younger woman's scarf around her shoulders like a shawl.

"I know you wanna go, buddy, but you've got to stay here," Kristoff urged an unhappy Sven, who huffed at him despondently. _"But Kristoff, Olaf gets to go!_ Yeah, but hooves don't work on boats."

"I'll look after him 'til you get back," Ryder promised Kristoff, and Sven nosed him with sad resignation.

Lt. Matthias and Anna were engaged in a quiet conversation. "When you reach the wreck, please pay my respects to their memories.""

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us?" Anna asked, but the Lieutenant shook his head.

"The spirits have been uneasy ever since your arrival; this is something your family needs to do on your own. For now, my place is here with my men and the village."

When the goodbyes were finished, Hans, who had been standing respectfully off to the side, approached the group. "It's time; we want to go before the winds change."

They boarded the small ship and Hans let down the sails. There was a flutter of shining white as the wind caught the tarp and began to fill it, and then, with a cheery abruptness, a leaf-laced gust of wind swirled around the mast and billowed into the sail. Elsa chuckled as the boat swayed and moved. "Hello there."

"It's Gale!" Olaf said enthusiastically, and the ex-prince cast the Queen a side-eye.

"I don't suppose you'll explain the sentient snow-child to me?"

"Olaf was created by a spontaneous act of true love," she said, with a slightly superior tilt to her head. "Yelena says it's a sign of very powerful magic."

"Believe me, your Majesty, I am the last person who will ever question the power you hold."

The trio and Olaf waved until the village was out of sight and the boat was sailing smoothly downriver towards a small channel off the fjord which, Hans had told them, would lead out into the Dark Sea. It was a beautiful autumn day, with bright sunlight and a high blue sky, and the bank of the river was lined by glorious red maples and golden poplars. Anna lingered by the bulwark, watching them pass, and didn't notice that she'd been joined by another presence until she heard Kristoff say, "You doing okay?"

"What? Oh." She looked over at her fiancé and nodded somewhat distantly. "Yeah, I'm…" She trailed off. "Actually, no, I'm not." He nodded, and she looked back out at the passing trees. "They were supposed to be heading towards Corona," she mumbled. "That was what we knew. That was what gave us _closure._ Now all of a sudden their boat shows up on the coasts of the North Forest? That's not a coincidence, Kristoff." She shook her head, red bangs fluttering in the breeze and eyes lost in the past. "They were looking for something. And I've got a pretty good idea of what."

"What do you mean?"

"You heard Prince Sideburns, Ahtohallan's magic has 'similar effects.' And Elsa just so happened to be born the day the Mist fell? I don't think so." Her delicate fingers curled into an angry fist. "They were trying to find the source of her powers. And they _lied_ to us about it. Again."

Kritsoff nodded again, and then reached out a hand. Anna took it with a sigh.

"It's okay to be mad at them," he advised quietly. "Even though you love them."

Anna didn't answer. He squeezed her hand, and they watched the riverbank pass them by in a troubled silence.

* * *

They reached the open sea around midday and began to move north again along the coast. It was no secret that the royal sisters were nervous about being on a boat, and that nervousness did not abate when they reached the choppier ocean waters. Elsa requested to go down into the hull, to which their guide acquiesced. She noted his discomfort as he showed her into the small mess hall, but he gave no warnings about leaving his stuff alone before he left; apparently he did not think it appropriate, all considered, to be protective about his new home.

It was definitely a home, too, and a bachelor's one at that; the lower quarters of the ship looked quite lived-in, in the untidy way of someone who has never had to pick up after themselves and who has abruptly started living alone. The dishes in the small kitchen were clean (she was grateful for that at least) but haphazardly organized, and the pantry's bland but nutritious stock definitely implied a man who had only recently learned how to cook for himself. Other signs, however, showed that the current inhabitant was someone who had a lot of experience living on ships; the bolts holding the cabinets and drawers shut were all meticulously closed in preparation for sudden high seas, and the table and chairs had been nailed to the floor.

After ten minutes of sitting in the mess and feeling her stomach roll with every wave, she realized she had no idea where Lt. Matthias's men had placed their few packed belongings, among which had been a novel she'd been reading on the overland journey, so she went looking for them. Immediately, of course, she stumbled upon the ex-prince's cabin, and though she felt sneaky about it she couldn't help but take a look around. The most immediate thing she noted was the lack of a personal touch; the room was very plain, except for the desk, over which had been scattered several maps. She realized after thumbing through a few of them that they were hand-drawn drafts of the coast. Several more leafs of paper revealed sketches of animals and local flora; a particularly detailed one showed a horse from the Arendelle stables whom she suddenly remembered had been his, brought to Arendelle back during her coronation.

She set the papers down, feeling guilty for prying but also bewildered. Had his family really exiled him with _nothing?_ She had heard Anna's stories about the torments he'd received at the hands of his brothers, of course, but had assumed after the events of those days that he'd merely been a self-pitying narcissist who believed in a world with a personal vendetta against him. A final glance around the room confirmed her suspicion: there were no other personal effects, except a change of clothes (Northuldran-made, so probably a gift or payment from Yelena's village), a woven Northuldran blanket, and, hanging on a peg on the wall, an all-too-familiar grey overcoat that she knew was the standard winter uniform for the Southern navy.

In one sense it was gratifying, to see how far he'd fallen. In another, it was unnerving. She couldn't imagine sending Anna away into exile, and with so little to remind her of home, too.

Above-decks, Anna herself was handling her nervousness of the open sea in a quite different manner. She stalked straight up to Hans and demanded: "So how does all this work?"

The sailor raised an eyebrow at her as he adjusted the wheel. "How does all what work?"

"Sailing. How does all this–" She gestured vaguely to the sails and ropes and wheel, "–Work?"

"You want me to teach you how to sail?" he repeated, surprised.

"Is there a problem with that?" Anna replied coolly.

"I'm a little concerned about your choice of teacher, but if you insist…"

"Oh, never mind," she huffed. "If you're going to be a jerk about it–"

"I can teach you about sailing, Anna!" a voice somewhere down by her knees piped up, and she looked down to see Olaf peering cheerfully up at her. "You see, when the wind blows into the sails it pushes the boat forward, but the boat can _also_ move when the wind blows _across_ the sails due to _aerodynamic forces!_ By adjusting the sails to catch the wind correctly, or 'trimming,' as they call it, the boat can move even when the wind is in a different direction than where you want to go!"

"How did you know all that?" Anna asked, bewildered.

"Oh, I spend a _lot_ of time in the library these days! Did you know there are four main stages in the water cycle?"

"Um, yes. Yes, I did. Thank you, Olaf."

"So let me get this straight," Hans drawled, redrawing the princess's attention. "Several years ago your sister accidentally created sentient life, with roughly the maturity and intellectual capacity of an adolescent child, and you people still haven't hired a proper tutor for him?"

"Um, we hadn't really thought about– wait a minute, no, you don't get to have a moral high ground here!"

"In any case, your snowman is right. You pull on the lines to rotate the sails to catch the wind… that's the jib sail there, it helps catch more wind and stabilizes the main sail… the standard both declares who we are as well as tells me which way the wind is blowing, and that case of meters on the wall down there are barometers for reading the air pressure."

"Wow." She walked down the steps to where the door down into the hull created a wall, and tapped the barometer's face; the hand wavered a bit and then settled again. She looked back up at the prince. "So you really know a lot about this stuff, huh?"

"Glad to know you were listening so intently when I told you about my exemplary record of naval service," he said dryly, adjusting the wheel, and then called: "Your Highness, if you refasten the bolt on that storage cabinet, it's a bit loose."

"There's no need to shout, I'm right here," Anna grumbled.

"Not you; him." Hans nodded to Kristoff, who looked startled.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're Yelena's heir and I'm currently acting in her service, which makes you the ranking officer on this ship."

"Oh. Uh…" Kristoff fixed the bolt and then straightened up again. "Right. I guess."

Hans gave him an odd look. "I realize you grew up in Arendelle, but you're a prince now. You're going to have to get used to giving orders, especially if you end up staying here in the North Forest."

"What do you mean?"

"Honeymaren takes after her grandmother; she's pretty no-nonsense about things. The Council was preparing to see her take charge of Yelena's village in the next decade or so, and now suddenly they have to adjust to you? Some guy they've never met? You're going to have to establish yourself quickly, or the other elders will get it in their heads that they can walk all over you."

Kristoff was saved from having to answer this when Elsa reemerged from belowdecks. "Ah, her Majesty returns. I trust you're feeling better?"

"Yes," Elsa said vaguely; Hans raised an eyebrow, noting that she seemed lost in thought. "How far are we?"

"Not far. We should reach the place by this afternoon." He nodded to Kristoff. "We were just discussing politics."

"Politics?" Elsa said, surprised.

"I can't claim to know a lot about the Council myself, seeing as I just got here last year, but there are some players His Highness will want to be aware of. I will say, having ties to Arendelle could make you a very interesting figure, your Highness. They'll definitely be keeping an eye on you. Negotiating a peace treaty with Her Majesty here could give you a lot of leverage."

"Peace treaty," Elsa repeated. "I hadn't even considered…"

"Hadn't you?" There was an uncomfortable silence. The ex-prince looked exasperated. "Did you think this was going to be easy?" he demanded of them. "Look, advantageous marriages and mutually beneficial trade can smooth over a lot of wrinkles, but Arendelle's mistreatment of the Northuldra won't just be swept under the rug. The only card you have to play is that the royal family never personally endorsed it, and that's not a great hand."

Olaf was peering up at Anna, confused. "I don't understand," he said, frowning a little in his innocent way. "Are Arendelle and the Northuldra fighting?"

"So you didn't tell him. I don't know why I'm surprised." Anna took Olaf's hand and glared back up at the sailor, her other hand clenching into a fist. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, your Majesties, but your beloved Arendelle has a lot of problems. They've been there for a long time, and believe me, other people have noticed even if you haven't." The princess looked at Kristoff, who met her eyes briefly and then looked away—confirmation of every increasingly sharp truth the ex-prince spoke. "Problems don't just disappear if you ignore them. You need a plan of attack, and something tells me that this time, warm hugs and town sing-alongs aren't going to cut it."

* * *

Everyone was in a pretty foul mood after that. Anna had been particularly annoyed at being scolded by someone who by all rights belonged in a prison cell ("Where does he get off?") and Elsa had been quietly incensed by the insult to her kingdom, but both had been somewhat abashed when Kristoff came to the ex-prince's defense: "Look, I hate him as much as you do, but I'm not going to pretend he isn't right. Everything he said is true, and we'll have to deal with it eventually."

When Kristoff left to explain things as best he could to Olaf, Anna turned to Elsa. "We don't try to solve things with town sing-alongs!" Then she paused. "...Do we?"

"He's got a point, Anna," the queen admitted anxiously. "I don't know how we're going to handle this when we get back to Arendelle— _if_ we get back to Arendelle."

"I guess we'll just have to tell people the truth–"

"And that would mean leaving Arendelle, for both you and Kristoff, or shuttering you inside the castle for your own safety." Anna looked away. "You'd hate that, you know you would."

"Maybe…"

"What?"

Anna twisted her fingers. "Okay, hear me out, but… maybe living in the North Forrest wouldn't be so bad."

"Anna…"

"I don't want to do that! I'd never see you, I'd miss you so much—but what am I supposed to do, make Kristoff pretend he's something he's not? Just to keep me happy? I can't do that, Elsa, it would be wrong!"

They faded off into silence. "Well," Elsa said at last, "It's Kristoff's choice, in the end." Anna nodded despondently, and the queen hugged her. "I promise, even if you lived in the North Forest, we'd still see each other. We'd find a way."

Anna sniffled and hugged her back tight. "Thanks," she mumbled into her sister's shoulder. Elsa patted her back.

* * *

At about three that afternoon, Hans informed them that they were approaching the place where he'd found the wreck. Spirits already low, the sisters hovered together on the starboard side of the ship and watched the trees fade away into rugged coastline and rocky beaches. At last Hans brought the ship around the edge of a small bay, and Elsa grabbed her sister's hand with a horrified expression.

The capsized boat lay perched sideways on the pebble-strewn shore like the skeleton of some deep-sea animal; the remaining tatters of the mast fluttered in the breeze, and the weather-bleached purple-and-green flag rippled halfheartedly, displaying briefly its golden crocus, before falling lifelessly along the mast.

"They shouldn't have been here," Elsa mumbled, her breath catching. "How did they get past the Mist?"

"I don't think they did." The sisters looked over as Kristoff approached them. "The Mist only goes over the land; the Dark Sea protects the Forest all on its own. Nobody can sail through it, not even experienced sailors like your father. At least…" He glanced over at the redhead, who was absorbed in piloting the ship.

"At least, not without help," Anna finished numbly.

The upright ship navigated its way into the bay alongside the capsized vessel. Hans dropped the anchor and was about to lower the gangplank when Elsa, feeling a sudden sharpness in her throat, let go off Anna's hand.

"Elsa–?"

Her sister didn't listen, instead sitting down on the bulwark and swinging her legs over. She disappeared with a little jump; when Anna looked down she saw that the sea had frozen under her sister's feet. Anna and Kristoff followed.

Elsa stopped at the yawning mouth of the major break in the hull, hands clenched, shoulders hunched. A feeling of horror was sweeping through her; this was worse, so much worse than what she had imagined. It was one thing to know her parents had drowned; it was another to see the wave-battered remains of the vessel which had failed them. Anna approached behind her and took her shoulder.

"I don't understand," Olaf said, as he and Kristoff followed up to them and stopped, looking around the deserted beach. "Why were they so far from the Southern Sea…?"

Anna shook her head wordlessly. A quiet clearing of the throat behind them made everyone but Elsa turn as Hans approached hesitantly, the chest of relics in his hands. Seemingly aware that holding them was tantamount to blasphemy to the sisters, he silently passed it off to Kristoff.

With a strangled noise, Elsa broke free again and hurried into the boat. Her sister and the others followed.

Inside the ship, thin light streamed through the rotting timbers and a large glass window, now half-shattered out. They searched through the ruins, pushing aside broken slats of wood and hanging scraps of cloth, overturning leaked-out barrels and rotting ropes. "There has to be something here," Anna insisted. "Some that could tell us about what happened, why they came this far north."

"A captain's log would do the trick," Hans said quietly, peering up at the weather-eaten timbers of the hull. "I looked in the ordinary places, but I couldn't find it, not even a destroyed one."

"Wait," Anna said, a look of comprehension dawning on her face. "A captain's log…" She turned around. "Everyone, look around!" She began to turn, scanning the hull. "Every Arendellian ship has a- a disguised compartment, usually waterproof!" She hurried over to the side of what had once been a ship's kitchen, looking at the cabinets.

"That's very clever," Olaf mused aloud. "Although it does make me wonder why they don't just make the whole ship waterproof…"

They searched the ship until at last Kristoff called over, "I think I found it!" The group hurried over to what had apparently been a bench, bolted into the side of the main cabin, inside which Kristoff had located a secret compartment. The interior was lined with glass and held inside another sealed glass cylinder, covered with dust.

Anna removed the cylinder and retrieved an old notebook bound in soft leather and a map covered in strange writing. "What language is this?"

"That's Northuldran," Kristoff answered, kneeling down next to her. "I never learned to read it…"

"This here, it's Father's handwriting," Elsa noticed, pointing to fresher notes in Arendellian on the map's corner. _"Memory-horde of history…creation of the spirits, store of forgotten truths. Magic source."_ She looked up as she read the last line. _"Elsa's source?"_

"They travelled North," Anna said, tracing the tracks of a hand-drawn line on the map. "And tried to cross the sea to…Ahtohallan."

"The River of Memory," Elsa whispered. _"Memory-horde of history…"_

"Reinforcing my 'water has memory' theory," Olaf said, nodding.

"But why?" Hans was frowning at the map, shaking his head. "Why go looking for the source of your powers then, after all that time? Had something new happened with your magic?"

"No…" Elsa shook her head, bewildered, and opened the journal. She sucked in a breath. "It's the captain's log. This is father's handwriting…"

"There are pages missing," Anna said, noting the torn ridges at the beginning of the book. "Look, the first entry is from the eleventh day of their journey. The first ten are torn out."

"There was something in there they didn't want anyone to know," Hans said grimly. "Even if the ship went down."

The group shared uncomfortable looks. Anna squeezed her sister's shoulder, and at last, with a deep breath, Elsa began to read.

" _Day 11. We have reached the Dark Sea; the storms are rougher here, but so far we have not encountered anything beyond our abilities to handle together. The Voice seems to guide us away from the worst squalls."_

"They heard the Voice," Anna gasped. "That was why they left; they were following it to Ahtohallan."

Elsa kept reading. _"Every day it draws us further and further north now. Its destination has become clear: it is drawing us to the place the Northuldran family spoke of in their legends—to Ahtohallan. Yet it sounds displeased now; I fear we have angered the spirits by disobeying their commands."_

"Their commands?" Anna asked. Elsa shook her head, mystified.

" _Day 12. The sea is full of unfriendly magic; twice we saw great sea-beasts in the distance, but thankfully avoided them. Idunna thinks we should go back to Arendelle and return with Elsa, as the spirits seemed to desire…"_ She trailed off, and then rallied, _"but I will not subject my daughter to such a journey if it can be helped. Elsa's powers are still not within her control, and if my suspicions are right, the truth might only upset her further."_

" _Day 13. The air is growing dangerously cold. Luckily we were prepared with our winter clothing. Otherwise little has changed. It amuses me to think that we are here, all bundled from head to toe, and our daughter could be as content out here as in the heart of summer._ He doesn't write after that for several days."

"Maybe nothing interesting happened," Olaf suggested.

"The next part is definitely interesting, though. _Day 17. We have found Ahtohallan."_ Everyone leaned a little closer with interest. _"This 'river of memory' is a glacier, in the heart of the Dark Sea. It is clearly the source of Elsa's magic; when we tried to venture onto it, Idunna's hair gained a pale stripe as Anna's did all those years ago, which did not fade for several hours."_ She looked up at Hans. "Just like yours. Ahtohallan did that?"

"It did a lot worse." He sounded worried. "Your Majesty, I warn you, what you might read next could be unpleasant…"

"We have to know," Anna insisted, before Elsa could reply. "Go on, Elsa."

The queen nodded. _"Day 18. We ventured inside the glacier today. It is as the legend says: a storehouse of memories and answers. I am sure the truth is in here somewhere, but we cannot go far enough inside without risking freezing too far and not being able to escape. Idunna believes that Elsa may be the key to exploring Ahtohallan unscathed. However, I fear that if I am right, it would mean ruin for our kingdom."_

"Ruin for Arendelle," Anna repeated slowly. "Why would finding the source of Elsa's magic mean ruin for Arendelle?"

But Hans was shaking his head. "They weren't looking for the source of her powers after all," he said critically. "They already knew, or at least had guessed. It's not a question of _where_ your magic came from, your Majesty, it's a question of _why._ "

"You were supposed to be there," Kristoff realized. "That's what Ahtohallan wanted. That's…"

"That's why it gave me magic." Elsa's voice was wooden. "I was supposed to go with them. To protect them."

Anna gripped her hand. The queen took a deep breath and forged ahead.

_"Day 19. We ventured further into the glacier today. The voice is growing insistent. We are close, I can feel it, but it wants us to leave. Our memories of Elsa are appearing around every corner now. I fear we are being given an order with which I dare not comply."_

_"Day 20. We have made a decision. If Idunna and I cannot find the truth by tomorrow, we will return home to Arendelle. The girls will know nothing of this futile endeavor."_

They turned the page. Elsa looked up. "There's no date. It just says, _We found him._ And then a bunch of crossed-out words; I can't make heads or tales of them."

"Him?" Kristoff leaned closer. "Who's him?"

"I don't know…" Elsa turned the page and sucked in a breath. "It's the last few entries."

The group fell silent. The queen read on.

 _"Day 22. Idunna and I are agreed. Nobody can know what we have seen. It would be the end of Arendelle._ Then… the writing gets shaky. _The ice isn't fading like last time. Idunna says my hair is turning white. I cannot bear to tell her the truth about hers."_ Anna had covered her mouth. "There's more entries without dates… _The ice is spreading now. We are lighting a fire in the stove."_ Elsa's voice began to shake. _"We've run out of coal for the stove. My hands are frozen over; I can barely pilot the ship. The fire is doing no good. We are out of spare wood…the end is close now. We dove too deep."_ She stopped, and then finished hoarsely: _"My dear daughters, forgive me."_

There was a long silence. Anna had tears running down her face; Elsa was numb. It was clear what must have happened next: without anyone to pilot the ship, wrecking during one of the infamous Dark Sea storms would have been inevitable. Eventually the boat had washed up on the shores of the northern coastline, and here it had lain for five long years.

"You say you didn't find them?" Anna asked at last, in a choked voice, and looked up at Hans. "Anything at all?"

He shook his head. "I showed you everything I found." He hesitated, and then said, "They were grouped together, though, the crown and the medals. I think… I think your parents must have been together, when they…" Anna hiccoughed and nodded, scrubbing her eyes.

There was another beat of silence, as Elsa stared down at the journal. Something was burrowing up through the layers of her mind, some sense of dissatisfaction. There was something wrong here, something that just didn't add up…

She looked over as Anna let out a shuddering breath, and saw that her sister was clutching at the collar of her dress. The gold engagement ring glittered dully on her hand.

And suddenly that little burrowing thing broke through to the surface, and she felt the ground roll under her like an ocean wave, and the whole world went cold.

"Give me the box," she demanded raspily of Kristoff, who passed them over, startled. Anna looked up as she flung open the lid, looking through the contents. "Metal, metal– all metal." She scrambled to her feet and looked at Hans. "Where did you find these."

"Wh– here in the ship–"

"Where!"

Hans gaped at her and then pointed to a place in the light of the window where several boards had fallen through the ceiling. "There, under those boards–"

She hurried to the place he was pointing, and dropped to a knee, moving aside several more boards. Within seconds, she had found what she'd been looking for: the rings, of course, had rolled a short ways, but had not gotten far before falling down flat, and remained right where they had lain for all the long years. She stood slowly, staring up at the broken lattice windows.

"Here," Elsa whispered. "Right here. Under the window."

"Yes, right–" Then Hans's gaze drifted to Anna, and his face went pale. "Oh. Oh, no…"

"Water has memories," the queen whispered, stepping back and looking around wildly. "And the water here…"

"Elsa?" Anna said nervously, but her sister had closed her eyes.

"Queen Elsa, don't do this," Hans warned weakly. The queen didn't listen. She raised her hands silently, fingers tensed.

Slowly, drop by drop, water beaded on the surface of the warped wooden boards around them and under their feet, and then lifted into the air, shining in the light. Kristoff sucked in a breath as the drops coalesced, suspended, and began to form a vague figure. Elsa closed her eyes tighter, grimacing with the effort, and the water became ice, and the figure…

Anna seized Kristoff's hand with a cry. Hans peered pityingly at the figure of the late king and queen embracing, eyes shut tight, frozen to solid crystalline blue. Elsa opened her eyes and swayed, exhaling a soft sob. Idunna and Agdar stood motionless in the beam of weak autumn sunlight, frozen in time, five years before.

Anna broke free from Kristoff and rushed forward, embracing the figures. Elsa approached silently behind, tears brimming along her eyes, holding the missing crown and naval honors in her hands.

"Why would they do this," Anna said, choked, as she lifted her head. "What could have been so bad that they'd rather have died than tell us the truth?"

"They were afraid," Elsa said weakly. "Afraid of…of us. _For_ us." Anna drew back, running her fingertips over her mother's twist-coronet. The strands of hair were as fine as ice spiderwebs. "Afraid for me…"

"We need to protect them." The sisters turned. Hans had stepped forward and motioned uncomfortably to the surrounding hull of the destroyed boat. "From the sun, I mean…can you make it cold enough?"

Elsa nodded. She turned, raising her eyes to the broken body of the ship. Raising a hand as if pushing aside a veil, a fine dusting of frost began to spread over the room. Gentle blue ice spindled upwards and encased the wooden structure of the boat in beautiful fronds and fractals of ice, until the room looked like a chapel of ice. When she lowered her hand, tears were rolling down her face.

"We'll give you some time," Kristoff said quietly. "Come on, Olaf." He, the snowman and the ex-prince left. Anna stepped back and grasped Elsa's hand tightly, and there the sisters remained, for a long, long while.

* * *

It was dusk by the time the sisters returned to the ship. Hans looked up from the maps Elsa had seen earlier in the day as they entered the mess, and Kristoff paused in cutting up vegetables for what seemed to be a stew already simmering on the stove. Olaf, however, was the first to approach, hopping down off the bench and running up to the sisters. He threw his stick arms around their legs. Anna gave a sad smile and knelt down to give him a proper hug. "Thanks, Olaf."

"I'm sorry about your parents," he said sympathetically as he waddled back. "Death and loss are very difficult realities to face."

His innocent seriousness made Anna giggle a little despite herself as she stood up. "Hey," she said to Kristoff as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm okay. Just… a bit shaken up."

You could take the man out of the aristocracy but you couldn't take the aristocracy out of the man, so Hans got up and pulled out the queen's chair for her as she sat down at the table, her eyes lost in another world. The map and the log were still clutched in her white fingers. "Was there anything…?" he began quietly, but she shook her head.

"I tried. But whatever magic froze them was stronger than mine."

"I'm sorry." And to his credit, she noted through the haze of grief and confusion, he sounded like he meant it.

"I just don't understand," she murmured. "Why then? I was _born_ with my powers; if I was the key to getting into Ahtohallan, why did it wait eighteen years to call them?"

"I think that's your answer," Hans answered. "At eighteen you became an adult, you could take responsibility for your kingdom's fate. The day you were born was the day the Mist fell; I don't think that's a coincidence."

Anna, Olaf and Kristoff sat down at the table as he continued. "Yelena and Matthias say the spirits were angered by the disharmony between Arendelle and the Northuldra, and sent the Mist to separate the two peoples; nobody knows who started the battle, but if the answers are anywhere, they're in Ahtohallan. Your magic is the key to finding out what really happened, possibly even lifting the Mist."

"Then why does Kristoff hear the Voice too?" Elsa asked hopelessly.

"Because he's a prince, and because his parents saved yours—and because of his engagement to Anna. Those are all political relationships; for the first time in over twenty years, representatives from both the Northuldra and Arendelle can interact on equal footing. Actually, that could explain why your powers acted up so badly during your coronation," he considered. "I don't think it's a coincidence that the same day you became queen your magic became harder to control—more powerful, even."

"That was the day I met Anna," Kristoff realized. "You think the spirits wanted Elsa and me to cross paths?"

"I think it's definitely possible, yes."

"Our parents were afraid of what they found in Ahtohallan," Anna said, drawing their attention. "That's a bad sign for Arendelle's case, isn't it." Hans hesitated, and nodded.

"If Arendelle were responsible…" Elsa trailed off, feeling sick. "But that doesn't make any sense. Neither group had any reason to attack each other; it was supposed to be a peace meeting!"

"You can't know for sure until you find whatever it is they found," Hans advised. "The best thing to do is to leave for Ahtohallan as soon as possible; the winds aren't in our favor yet, but hopefully we can leave in a few days."

"No." Elsa's voice was suddenly stronger as she looked up. "Not we, me."

"What?" Anna said, a note of suspicion in her voice.

"You heard what happened to our parents; Ahtohallan is dangerous, too dangerous for the rest of you. I should go alone."

"No," Anna insisted. "No, Elsa, we do this together! Ahtohallan wanted you there _with our parents;_ if anything, going _alone_ is too dangerous!"

"You're not the only one hearing the Voice," Kristoff added. "I'm supposed to be there, too."

"Only one of us needs to go," Elsa argued. "I can find whatever our parents found and bring the information back to the rest of you."

"And how do you plan to get there?" said Hans skeptically. "You don't know how to sail, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only person with a ship even halfway capable of crossing the Dark Sea this side of the Mist."

"I'd figure something out," she dismissed, waving her hands.

"No, you would drown, and more to the point I'd like to stop being woken up in the middle of the night by ethereal voices. We're going, your Majesty, and you can either go with us or stay here."

"Not that I ever thought I'd say this, but I'm on his side," Anna agreed. "This isn't up to you, Elsa. You can't make choices for other people."

"I'm made out of snowflakes," Olaf pointed out. "So a river of ice that freezes unwelcome visitors is what I think people call a 'non-issue.'"

There was a long silence. Then the Queen sighed. "I can see I'm outnumbered."

"Glad to hear it," Kristoff replied, standing up. "Now wash up. Dinner's almost ready."

"Again, you're a prince, so it's really not your job to be cooking on my ship–"

"Yeah, not a chance, Sideburns. I've seen the way you people cook, it turns my stomach."

"I don't _have_ sideburns anymore–"

"Which we are all very grateful for," Anna quipped, "and Kristoff is a great cook, so simmer down."

As the bickering continued, the queen looked down at the journal in her hands. _Ruin for our kingdom._ Her father's words rang through her head, and she felt a chill go through her.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

"Oh wow, your heads all turned at like, the same moment. Did you hear it? What does it sound like?"

Elsa listened to Kristoff echo the four notes and shivered. She hoped it was just her imagination, but they sounded more ominous than she remembered.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**A/N: The symbols Kristoff is describing on the back of the lute come from the Sámi tradition of religious drums and the symbols usually found on them. Wikipedia has an excellent article for those of you who would like to learn more.**

* * *

_[Musical suggestion: Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Patti Murin's "I Seek the Truth."]_

_(Shot of the shipwreck from above, in the bright morning sunlight.)_

_(Shot of Elsa sitting at an ice desk and chair in her parents' slightly-tilted personal cabin, studying the log.)_

ELSA: Father, I am flipping through the past,

Turning pages of a book to find you.

_(Turns to final page, with her father's apology.)_

Father, I am lost;

Father, I am scared;

Father, I don't know what to do.

_(Closes log to show the embossed Arendelle crocus on the cover.)_

What were you frightened to say?

Must've written it down for a reason,

Must've thought I'd find it someday…

_(Stands, paces to tilted window. The sea glitters coldly, and something seems to move among the waves in the distance.)_

ELSA: I feel this power surging through me every minute,

Like a horse that's gone wild.

_(Anxiously)_

Father, you were here;

Father, you are gone;

_(Closes eyes, clutching journal to her chest.)_

And you left behind a scared child!

_(Opening eyes, determined.)_

Can't sit around and cry;

_(Walks back to desk.)_

There's too much to lose,

And I think that I've been given this power for a reason–

_(Shot moves to Anna on the boat)_

ELSA: _(VOICEOVER):_ –And I think you knew why!

_(Anna stands alone near front of boat with the scrolled map)_

ANNA: _(Determinedly)_ I seek the truth!

What are You telling us?

I'm ready to hear!

_(Marching determinedly forwards to the prow of the boat)_

Can't go forward this way,

_(Unfurls map)_

With questions growing day by day!

_(Holding up the map up to the sea–)_

I seek the truth!

What are You showing us?

_(Lowers map to reveal the actual waters)_

I'm ready to see!

_(Slightly melancholy:)_

I need to know what You are,

_(Shot focuses on Ahtohallan on the map)_

ANNA: _(VOICEOVER)_ To know who I am meant to be…

_(Shot moves back to Elsa, still pacing and wringing her hands)_

ELSA: Father, you were everyone's king;

I watched you closely and you taught me well.

_(Peering into cracked mirror)_

How do I be you?

How do I be good?

_(Looking down at her hands as frost spreads across the floor)_

How do I be me in Arendelle?

_(Clenches hands and looks up at reflection again)_

How do I govern this land with a calling inside

That I can't command?

_(Looking back to the window as if she hears something, half-fearful)_

It's growing and speaking a language

That I don't understand!

_(Shot back to Anna, who's learning how to raise a sail from Hans)_

ANNA: And I seek the truth!

What are You teaching me;

I'm ready to learn!

_(The wind catches the sail; Hans nods approvingly.)_

Can't retreat once again;

_(Anna peers with a half-glare up at the sail)_

We'll do better than they did back then!

_(Gives Kristoff half-hug as she passes by him; he smiles)_

I seek the truth!

_(Moving to the prow of the boat again; Kristoff follows)_

You send us messages

And they hold the key.

_(Kristoff sets a hand on her shoulder as she looks into the wind)_

I need to know what they mean

To know who I am meant to be…

_(Shot moves to Anna walking along the beach towards the boat)_

ANNA: Another secret.

And another and another…

_(Stopping at the break in the hull)_

At least you were consistent.

_(Looking up at the statues of her parents)_

Hello father, hello mother.

_(Determinedly turning on her heels)_

But I won't let that pull us back to what we were before!

_(Marching up the ice steps to the private cabins)_

I won't let her close that door!

_(Hesitates at the top of the steps, peering down the tilted hall to where Elsa has semi-isolated herself, and then steels herself and moves forward)_

No more doors anymore!

ELSA: _(Staring down at the open journal with distress)_ Where the north wind meets the sea...

ANNA: _(Walking down hall towards cabin)_ No more secrets!

ELSA: There's a river...

ANNA: Stay together!

ELSA: Full of memory.

ANNA: You're my family.

ELSA: _(Looking up anxiously as Anna enters the room)_ Dive down deep into her sound–

ANNA: I just found you!

ELSA: _(Worried)_ We'll be drowned–!

ANNA: _(Insistent)_ You'll stay found!

_(Taking her hands)_

ANNA: I seek the truth!

They drew a map for us, they left us a clue.

_(Insistent; pulling Elsa towards window.)_

It's up to you and me now,

We _have_ to find out what they knew!

_(Letting go of her hands to go to the window)_

I seek the truth!

ELSA: Anna–

ANNA: They say that it can hurt, but even so!

ELSA: Anna!

ANNA: We need to know what they found,

So we can know what to do!

And I won't let it–

ELSA: _(Fearfully)_ I won't let you–

ANNA/ELSA: –Go!

ELSA: I won't let you–

ANNA/ELSA: Go!

* * *

The small ship rocked gently in the waves, creaking softly in the velvety night and then settling again. Within, almost every occupant was sleeping soundly: Anna and Elsa, who had been granted use of the private cabin, were snoozing softly (or in Anna's case, snoring) on the bunk like two peas in a pod; Olaf was curled up in a little snowdrift at the foot of the bed, letting out soft snored _"mi-mi-mi-mi-mis!"_ with every exhale; and the former prince was sound asleep in the hammock he'd strung up in the mess hall, one arm slung under his head as a pillow and loose hair falling in his eyes. The only soul still awake was Kristoff, sitting up in his own hammock and idly strumming his lute as he watched the Northern Lights wavering outside the porthole window.

In the private cabin, however, the easy rest was for one party quickly becoming disrupted. Elsa frowned in her sleep and then rolled over on her side, mumbling something. There was silence for another moment, and then her face twisted into a deeper frown.

_"Anna… be careful…"_

A snowflake drifted down from the ceiling, and then a second.

_"Anna… get away from there… s'too dangerous…"_

The snowflake alighted on her cheek.

_"Anna…!"_

* * *

_The young princess watched anxiously as her younger redheaded sister giggled and pirouetted on the fjord's surface. "C'mon, Elsa, this is so much fun!"_

_"Anna, we're not supposed to be out here without mama and papa!" The blonde girl wrung her gloved hands, looking over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go back to the castle–"_

_"Stop being such a worrywart!" The girl looked back to find that the redheaded child had become a young strawberry-blonde woman, skating freely with grace in figure-eights over the fjord's surface. "It's perfectly safe!"_

_"Anna, I really don't think–" the queen urged, and then her head turned as a loud cracking noise split the air. Her eyes widened as the shadow seemed to fall over her, and she gasped, stepping back._

_The dam of ice seemed to loom above her, growing large and larger as its shadow blocked out the sun. Behind it, through its icy stones, Elsa could see the threatening power of the sea looming blue and deep._

_"Elsa, come o-on!"_

_Anna hadn't seemed to notice, still skating cheerfully on the ice as the dark shadow crossed her, covering the fjord and then Arendelle in an icy grey pallor. The queen's breath hitched as the townspeople began to gather in the streets, confused. "Anna–!"_

_"You're missing all the fu-un!"_

_The cracks in the dam were spreading, the ear-splitting pops ringing across the hills. The queen began to run. "Anna, get away from there!"_

_The cracks were beginning to spew water. The queen raced against time onto the ice._

_"Watch what I can do!"_

_"Anna!"_

_The princess twirled in a pirouette just as the dam burst its bounds; the queen threw up her hands in a futile effort to protect the sister and kingdom behind her, and then the water swallowed them whole._

* * *

"Anna!"

Elsa shot up in the bunk, breathing hard. For a moment she didn't know where she was, and looked wildly around the cabin, before a snore caught her ear and she looked over. Anna mumbled something, and the queen held her breath, but the princess quieted again and drifted back into deeper sleep.

Elsa let out a sigh and stood up, still short of breath. She paced back and forth a few times, running her shaking hands through her hair and trying to calm down, before she caught sight of herself in the shaving mirror on the wall. A haggard pale face looked back at her with wide, frightened blue eyes.

She looked down at her hands to find them covered in small rosemåling fronds of ice, forming patterns of Arendellian crocuses and four-pointed snowflakes with their all-too-familiar symbols. The queen clenched her fists and looked back up at the mirror. As she watched, the panicked heaving of her shoulders and wideness of her eyes became a straight-backed determination, and narrow-eyed resolve. She turned on her heels.

* * *

Back in the mess hall, Kristoff's eyebrows rose as he heard a door open, and he saw through the mess's open door a figure enter the hallway and disappear up the steps to the deck. He waited a moment, but the figure didn't return, and he went back to his quiet strumming.

* * *

The waves roared and crashed against the pebble beach, and lightning forked through the sky. A storm was brewing, and a bad one, too.

The queen eyed the roiling black waves with a sense of self-assurance determination. She had done this before, after all; she knew she could freeze the water under her feet so long as she kept running. And as for running in the right direction…

_Ah-ah ah-ah!_

She gave one last haughty look to the sea and then stalked back, unbuttoning her jacket and dropping it onto a nearby boulder. She'd need a running start, after all.

Lightning flashed again; she fixed her hair into a freer ponytail and then set her shoulders.

_Wait… wait… and…_

The waves foamed.

_Now!_

She sprinted full-tilt towards the Dark Sea; her feet met solid ice, and for a moment she felt a thrill of confidence, before a wave overtook her and threw her back into the water.

* * *

_Alright. Try two._

The sea was looking like less of an easy obstacle now.

_You got this. You got this._

This time she was smarter. When the wave came for her, she dove through it instead of trying to climb it, and managed to pull herself up onto a rocky outcrop, only to slip on the mossy top an slide down a panicky ramp of her own ice. The next wave came lunging against her, and she gritted her teeth, shooting another ramp upwards against it. But the sea was not to be mastered so easily; the ramp buckled and shattered under her feet, and again, the wave won.

* * *

Elsa had always assumed that beneath the waves, the ocean was calm. She was wrong.

The ocean was _alive,_ breathing, one almost might say, with the pulse and pull of its tides and the motion of thousands of droplets of water rolling over one another in unison, and moving her with them. This time there was no pebbly ocean floor beneath her; the water in her ears deafened her, like a snowstorm covering over the sounds of a town. Lightning flashed above her, and she kicked for the surface, fighting for air.

But there was something else in the water, too. She thought for a moment it was a school of fish, but when it appeared in front of her in a form of tides and bubbles and glowing white eyes, she realized, too late, that this was no natural phenomenon.

Those ice-cold eyes studied her for an eternal instant, and in that instant she knew she had been judged, and found wanting. Then the _whatever-it-was_ vanished into a flurry of bubbles, and she kicked for the surface, _hard._

She broke through the waves and gasped in a breath, before improvising a small raft of ice and clambering aboard. For exactly one second she thought she was safe, before the _something_ rammed hard against the bottom of the raft and threw her back into the sea. The waves crashed around her, and she saw to her terror the shadow looming out of the water, before it broke free and pushed her down, down, _down_ into the sea.

Elsa only had one chance, and she knew it. Whatever this thing was, it was made out of water; with her last breath held in her mouth, she screwed up her face and channeled as much cold as she could into the weight on her chest.

For a moment, there was peace, and the satisfying sound of crystalizing ice, and she thought she had won.

And then the spirit melted again and vanished into thin water.

_Uh oh._

* * *

A gust of air swirled around the door down into the hull and through the hallway into the mess cabin. Kristoff looked up in surprise for a moment before letting out a "Whoa!" as the wind-spirit shoved him out of the hammock and onto the floor. The noise caused Hans sit up in his own hammock, startled.

"What's going on?"

"I don't– hey! Knock it ou– _whoa!"_ The gale was shoving him roughly forward towards the door. "What's your prob–"

 _"Elsa?_ Elsa!" He looked up to see that Anna had appeared in the doorway, looking around wildly with Olaf hovering at her feet. "Have you guys seen Elsa?"

* * *

The world was a whirl of clouds and sky and the harsh concrete of seawater as she slammed again through the ocean's surface. Every bone in her body felt broken, but there was no time for self-pity; the _thing_ was relentless. A conjured slab of ice shoved the spirit down again into the water and bought her precious seconds, but soon enough it was dragging her down again below the waves. A conjured snow-flake shield was shattered instantly. Freezing it didn't work. Attacking it didn't work. How did you defeat a creature of water and ice _with water and ice?!_

The thought barely had time to cross her mind before the spirit caught her by the hand, and dragged her down into the depths again.

* * *

The group scrambled up the stairs and to the prow of the boat; they scanned the shore and the waves desperately, before Kristoff shouted: "There!"

Anna looked north towards the sea and spotted the pale dot in the distance bobbing in the waves; the dot slipped under the water just before something clear and silvery seemed to lunge out of the waves, and the princess's eyes shot wide.

"Elsa!" She took several steps back, clearly intending to leap off the boat after her sister, but Hans caught her by the arm.

"I'm the better swimmer; you two get the lifeboat!"

"Hans–!"

Before Anna could get another word in edgewise, the sailor had jumped over the edge of the boat and plunged into the sea in a practiced dive; Kristoff grabbed Anna's arm and they raced to the lifeboat secured along the left bulwark.

* * *

Below the roiling face of the sea, the queen swam for the surface again, lungs burning. Her hand pushed its way into the open air, and for a moment she felt a burst of hope, before a form of water and light collided with her again and plunged her further below the waves. She turned; as lightning illuminated the water in a blinding flash she saw the shape of the horse rear in a terrifying figure, and in that moment she knew she was a dead woman.

Then the horse's ephemeral hoof struck her head, and the force of the water knocked all sight and sound and sense clean out of her mind.

* * *

"Come on, come on!" Anna thrust an oar into Kristoff's hand and they began to paddle. Olaf was swishing at the waves with his twig hand, to very little effect. "She hasn't come up. Why hasn't she come up!"

"I don't–" Kristoff began, and then suddenly the lifeboat was clipping along at a much faster pace, the prow practically lifting out of the waves. "What the–"

"It's Gale!" Olaf exclaimed, and the wind at their backs chattered in appreciation as it sped them through the water.

* * *

The unconscious figure of the queen swayed with the waves, but was not yet permitted to rest in peace; the spirit swished around her and then grabbed hold of her collar with its teeth, dragging her down. The queen's eyes opened blearily; she saw the green and the blue in blurred shapes, the distant illuminations of white lightning from the world above her…

And then… and then something that was not blue and black, but red and white, as the world was quickly fading again to gray…

Hans, cheeks round with held breath, grabbed hold of the horse's neck as best he could; the water spirit immediately took offense to this and reared with a silent whinny, throwing him off and, in the same moment, releasing the queen. Undaunted, he swam towards it again, hands held at the ready as he tried to both soothe and command the beast; the horse's head weaved back and forth, eyeing him, and he stared it down, unblinking.

"Here!" Up above the waves, Anna set down her oar as Gale ceased to push them and swirled anxiously around the lifeboat.

"Anna, wait–"

"Stay here. I'll be back!" And she dove into the water.

Opening her eyes under the surface, the princess looked around. A quick glance to the left and right revealed the ex-prince taming what appeared to be a—was that a horse?—and then, just below–

She dove deep towards the sinking figure; Elsa's head was lolling back, white hair drifting like spiderwebs in the gloom, and Anna hooked her arm under her sister's shoulder, fighting for the surface…

The two broke through the membrane of water and air with a gasp, Elsa choking badly, Anna tugging her through the waves to the lifeboat. Kristoff helped pull the spluttering queen into the lifeboat, and Elsa pushed herself up onto her knees, coughing up seawater. "Are you okay?" Anna demanded. Her sister nodded weakly, gasping for air.

Gale pushed them back towards shore, and Anna helped her sister stumble onto the beach, where the queen promptly collapsed, shoulders heaving. "What were you _thinking?"_ Anna demanded, kneeling down beside her. "Going out alone into the middle of the ocean–!"

"Is she okay?" Kristoff demanded, kneeling down beside them. Anna nodded angrily. "What were you _doing_ out there!? Didn't you learn anything from what happened in Arendelle?!"

"An- na- I'm s–" Elsa coughed again, spitting out more seawater. Anna patted her back, torn between anger and concern.

"Whoa, boy, whoa there–" The trio and Olaf looked over as Hans stumbled back out of the waves; the water-horse reared, freezing and thawing in an angry shimmer. "Calm down, it's okay…" Kristoff, Anna, Olaf and Elsa (who was being supported by her sister) gathered around as the sailor calmed the upset spirit. "There you go…it's alright…" He patted the horse's frosted neck and pet its nose in a soothing rhythm.

"What _is_ that?" Anna wondered anxiously, eyeing the spirit that had tried to kill her sister.

"Seriously? You guys have never heard of a Nøkk before?"

"A Nøkk?" Elsa's voice was still raspy. "I thought they were just myths…"

"Can I get some help here?" The queen nodded weakly and waved her hands; a frosted bridle and reigns appeared around the horse's neck in a burst of snowflakes, allowing the sailor a little more control. The Nøkk was beginning to calm down now, thankfully, and seemed to be accommodating itself to the ex-prince. "First thing to know about sailing, always believe the myths." He patted the horse's neck again and fed him a snowflake. "Nøkks are water spirits; they lure the dishonest or impure of heart into the sea and drown them under the waves."

"So why does he like _you_ then?" Anna snipped; apparently the fact that he'd just saved her sister's life was not sufficient penance for his crimes, but Hans took it in stride.

"All horses like me." The nøkk butted "past" the ex-prince's head in a small wave which soaked him again. "Most horses like me," Hans amended, pushing drenched auburn hair out of his eyes. "The real question is, your Majesty, why doesn't he like _you?"_

The other three turned to Elsa, who looked suddenly abashed. "Elsa?" Anna said, suspicious. "What _were_ you doing out there?"

"And why didn't you have a lifeboat?" Kristoff added bluntly.

The queen didn't answer. Anna looked exasperated. "You were trying to get to Ahtohallan, weren't you!"

"N–" The nøkk suddenly lunged at the queen, restrained only by Hans's bridle, and she startled badly.

"You were! What were you going to do, Elsa, run across the ocean?!" The queen winced. "Have you lost your _mind?!"_

"Anna, I was just–"

" _Do not tell me you were trying to protect me!"_ Elsa closed her mouth, ashamed. "You tried. To run. _Across the ocean!_ That is _insanely dangerous,_ Elsa, way more dangerous than me going to Ahtohallan with you! When, _when_ are you going to learn that you can't make choices for other people?!"

"It's too dangerous!" Elsa argued, finding her voice again. "You heard what happened to mother and father; Anna—I couldn't risk losing you again!"

"That's not your choice to make! You can't control my _life,_ Elsa; I'm not a child! What are you going to do if Kristoff and I stay in the Forest, check up on me every week?!" Elsa opened her mouth and then faltered. Anna crossed her arms. _"What."_

"Maybe you leaving Arendelle isn't the best idea…"

Anna stared at her sister, and then looked up at Kristoff. He glanced away uncomfortably, arms still crossed, and she looked back to the queen. Elsa had hunched her shoulders and was holding out her hands half-placatingly. "Anna–"

"Mm-mm. No. Not another word." She walked away towards the ship, shaking her head mutely and leaving the other four behind her. There were an uncomfortable few moments of silence.

"You don't want Anna to move to the Forest." Elsa looked over; Kristoff was still watching his fiancée walk up the gangplank and vanish down into the hull of the boat.

"Kristoff–"

He followed after Anna without another word. Olaf patted the queen's skirt comfortingly. "I'm sure it'll all turn out okay," he promised, and then waddled after the ice-harvester. Elsa tried to say something and then gave up, shoulders slumping. When she heard a whinny from the Nøkk she looked over with a sigh. The ex-prince raised his eyebrows at her.

"You tried to run across the ocean?" he repeated, bemused. The queen shook her head and followed listlessly after the rest of her family into the boat. Oh, she knew Anna would forgive her, eventually—but how long that "eventually" would be was hard to imagine. Anna could really hold a grudge, and the queen knew she had messed up badly this time. Looking back at it now, the decision seemed incredibly foolish; run across the _ocean?_ What had she been thinking?

But then she remembered the shattering force of the dam giving way to the sea, and a chill shivered down her spine.

Back on the beach, the sailor clucked his tongue at the now-calmed spirit, considering the situation. _So you thought protecting you was her only motive, did you, Anna?_ The princess didn't always ask the questions she should about a situation. Hans had seen that right away; it was what had made her such a good mark, in those long-ago carefree days of being a terrible person. She was getting better at it, but her sister was a practiced liar, and he knew from experience how easy it was to manipulate a conversation out of Anna's hands. He had given her every hint, too: the Nøkk lured away the impure of heart, the impure of _intention._ What impure intention had plagued the Queen's heart? Why would anyone risk crossing the Dark Sea on foot when there was a ship available?

 _You might just do it if you wanted to get there before everyone else._ He watched the queen vanish into the hull as he patted the horse absent-mindedly. Information was a valuable commodity, and whether Anna realized it or not, Elsa was still a _queen_ with obligations to a _kingdom_ , and a queen who had learned at her father's knee, at that. Their parents had tried to dictate who would get the truth, and how much of it; oh, they'd probably had very noble reasons, but their insistence on keeping secrets had doomed them all the same. Apparently her Majesty hadn't learned from their mistakes.

In his mind's eye he could picture the glacier glowing cold and beautiful and unforgiving in the night. _What do you suspect you'll find there, Queen Elsa? What are you so afraid of?_

He watched the boat for another long minute, and then put it out of his mind, turning back to the horse and undoing the bridle; the Nøkk snuffled his face and then whisked away into the waves. It wasn't his problem, and whatever happened to Arendelle wasn't his business anymore. He was a man with a boat, nothing more.

And yet he felt the beast's eyes on him, searching his heart from the deceptive calm of the sea.

* * *

_Knock-knock-knock._

"I'm sleeping here in the kitchen, Elsa, I don't want to talk to you!"

"Not your sister, but okay–"

The door to the mess hall opened, and Kristoff gave Anna a half-smile. "Oh. It's you." She stepped back to let him into the cabin and then shut it behind him. "Don't tell me I shouldn't be mad at her," she warned, pointing a finger at him.

"Wasn't going to."

"Ooh, I am so _steamed_ at her!" She threw her hands up in the air, pacing. "I know, I know she does it out of love, but I am so sick of her trying to wrap me in cotton wool every time something even a _teensy bit_ dangerous happens! Like, those aren't your choices, Elsa! I'm not a little kid anymore! You can't just lock me out in the hall to keep me away from the scary magic!"

"You tell 'er, Anna."

"And hello, it's not _your choice_ where I live with my husband! It's not even just my choice! It's _our_ choice! If we want to live in the North Forest, then we'll live in the North Forest, and there's nothing, _nada,_ she can stay to stop us!" She turned back around and saw the ice harvester looking uncomfortable. "What? What is it?"

"I'm just…I don't know." He hesitated. "Would it…really be so bad, to stay in Arendelle?"

"Don't you want to live in the North Forest? I mean, I just assumed…"

"Why, because I'm Northuldran?"

"Well…" He gave her a look, and she flushed, sitting down in the nearest chair. "Oh. I'm sorry, I guess I didn't even realize I was doing that…"

"It's okay. At least you realized it." He sat down in the chair next to her, leaning his elbows on the table and looking at the lute, which he'd left on the table during the mad rush upstairs. Anna eyed him a moment, and then decided that complaining about her sister could wait. She nudged him gently with her arm.

"Looks like those are some pretty deep thoughts." She waited. He didn't answer. "So… you _don't_ want to live in the North Forest?"

Kristoff sighed. "It's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't answer right away, instead picking up his lute and turning it over. The symbols on the back, usually somewhat hidden by their similar color to the rest of the wood, stood out clear in the warm light coming from the hanging oil-lamp above them.

"This here is the sun," Kristoff said, pointing to a diamond-shaped symbol in the middle of the lute. "It's always in the middle, or at least that's what she told me. Those are reindeer, obviously—see how some of them are in a herd and some are wild?—and people and tents. And around the edge…she put people, lots of people, all united in a circle. Our family, those of us who are still alive and those who had died together."

"Your mother made this?" He nodded. "It's beautiful."

"If we go back through the Mist, then– then I have to give up all of this, everything I am, everything that's _mine."_ He set the lute down and stood up, pacing away. Anna watched him run an anguished hand through his hair. "But Arendelle is my home, it's where you are–"

"Our home is wherever we are, Kristoff. If you want to stay in the Forest–"

"But I don't!" He turned to face her again, gesturing in half-exasperation, half-desperation. "I don't want to leave Arendelle, Anna! Okay, I-I grew up there, everyone I know is there—my family, my friends, the guys from my crew—and I love Arendelle, I love my life there! _Even_ with everything wrong with it! I've been in the Forest, what, six days? And they want me to lead the village someday? I mean I don't know how their government works, I–"

He squeezed his eyes shut and gestured vaguely, trying to find a way to put it into words. In the end all he could say was, "Arendelle is my home. But these– these traditions, this language, they're part of _me."_ He opened his eyes and sat down heavily in the chair again, looking like all the fight had been sapped out of him. "Why should I have to shut who I am and where I come from away in a box, just to live in my own home?"

Anna watched him sadly, uncertain what to say. Kristoff had fallen silent, staring despondently down at the table. She had never seen him look so…beaten.

Kristoff glanced up dully out of the corner of his eye as he heard a shifting sound. Anna righted the old lute in her lap and placed her fingers awkwardly on the strings. She gave a faint, inexpert strum.

" _Reindeers are better than people…"_ His mouth twitched sadly as he recognized the tune. _"Kristoff, why is that so true?"_

He gave a small snort as she trailed off, and then replied: "Well… _people will beat you, and curse you and cheat you."_ She strummed the new chord. _"Yeah, a lot of them are bad…"_ He met her eyes with a rueful smile, and spoke instead of singing: "But not you."

Anna returned the sad smile, and then set the lute aside and pulled him into her arms. "We'll figure this out," she promised, and he nodded, hugging her back fiercely in the warm light from the lamp.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

The storm that night shook the hull of the small ship and rattled the timbers. The gray rains pelted the land and the sea like a volley of darts and lightning crackled overhead in great arching forks of white against the boiling sky and sea. The ship rocked back and forth in the swells such that the three "land-lubbers" all got seasick in turn (poor Anna was green all night), and at one point Hans had to get up and bail out water (he flatly refused to let the royals help), but when the storm had passed three fortuitous factors had come to pass: the winds were now blowing the right direction, the three royals had finally gotten their sea legs, and, as Hans put it, they had weathered the storm partly sheltered the coast rather than out on the open sea.

The morning dawned clear and bright with a few fluffy white clouds, and Anna, Kristoff and Olaf decided to take advantage of Hans's final checks on the ship's condition to enjoy their last few hours on solid ground. "It's so beautiful up here," Anna said in awe, watching the sea lap the shore framed by a halo of red and yellow leaves.

"Yeah, well…" Kristoff sat down next to her on the boulder, grinning. "You're beautiful-er." Anna giggled.

"It's quiet, peaceful…" She scooted closer on the boulder.

"Oh yeah?" He brushed her red bangs out of her eyes.

_"Secluded…"_

"I like the sound of that…"

They were just puckering up when, naturally, interruption struck in the form of a chortling snowman whizzing past the shore on a galloping sea-pony.

"Wait, what?" The split-second's view of the situation startled the princess so much she stood up, leaving her fiancé to tip over sideways. "Kristoff, did you see–?"

The delighted giggles of the snowman came echoing back as the Nøkk whipped past them again, spreading ripples in its wake and Olaf holding on for dear life. _"An-na Kris-toff you have to try this!"_ the warbled voice called back, and Anna giggled.

They watched in amusement and fascination as the water spirit cantered around the small bay, towards the ship and then back again. "What was it Hans had said? The Nøkk doesn't like dishonesty?" Anna mused.

"I guess so long as you're not lying about anything it's perfectly safe," Kristoff observed, eyeing the snowman as the Nøkk raced past them again.

"Well, looks like Olaf's heart is true," Anna giggled.

"Huh." Kristoff frowned. "Does Olaf actually _have_ a heart?"

"Kristoff!"

"Oh I just mean literally."

"Oh. Huh." She tapped her chin. "Never thought about it."

The Nøkk galloped up and came to a halt in front of them with a small tidal wave, Olaf still giggling with delight. "How was it?" Anna inquired.

"Safe to say, the Nøkk has ruined me for regular horses. Not that I've ever ridden a regular horse, but one can assume…"

Kristoff snickered, but was cut short when the Nøkk materialized directly behind him. He took a step back, intimidated, as the spirit towered over him, studying him with its glowing eyes. "Uh… hello," he tried, as the norse nosed him.

"I think he's offering you a ride," Anna assessed.

"Oh. Heh. That's great," Kristoff said, taking a step back. "But, um, ladies first?"

The Nøkk vanished into the water, only to materialize on the other side of him. "I think he clearly wants you," Anna pointed out.

Kristoff patted the horse's nose gingerly. "Ah, thank you, Mr. Nokk, but uh…I'm good."

"Are you afraid?" Olaf asked innocently.

"What? Psh. No. Afraid of what?"

"Afraid he won't see truth in your heart, and he'll drown you?"

"Uh…"

"Are you?" Anna asked, surprised.

"What? No." _I mean, I can't think of any really bad lies off the top of my head, but... I mean there was that time I stole some carrots for Sven from the kitchens, but they were going bad!_ "Course not." _Wait, why does_ that _feel like a lie?_

"Then get on," said Olaf.

The snowman and Anna were staring at him, and Kristoff gave an awkward laugh. "Uh, oaky. Happy to." _Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?_ He patted the Nøkk's back. The horse was staring at him, betraying nothing. "This will be great," he said, mostly to himself, as he swung himself up onto the frosted horse. "This is… totally fine." _I'm true of heart, right? I mean, sure, everyone tells little lies someti–_

And then the horse reared, and they were off.

For two seconds he thought maybe he'd gotten away with it, and barely had time to wonder what _it_ was, before he was plunged headfirst into the ocean.

"Kristoff!"

 _Pwssh!_ They shot out of the water again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry about the carrots!" _Fwssh!_ The horse vanished, leaving the man bobbing in the water. "I'm okay," he reassured the anxious princess.

"Are you sure? You shouted something about carrots," she pointed out, running out to stand next to him on a little outcrop of rocks.

"Uh…" The horse surfaced, glaring him down. "I stole carrots from the palace kitchens! But they were already going bad, I swear!" The horse splashed him again. "Okay, most of them were! I'm sorry!"

"Oh." Anna crouched down so that she was almost at eye-level. "Kristoff, I don't care about that, we have loads of carrots. Is that all?"

"Yes." _Glub._ Kristoff resurfaced a moment later. "No!"

"Well then, tell the truth and he'll stop trying to drown you!"

"Okay! I don't like silk pants, or fancy parties!"

"Neither do I," Anna said, confused. "And that's fine, I prefer you in leather! –Wait, that came out wrong." Kristoff grinned despite himself. "Okay, so we're good? That's it?"

"That's it."

 _Sploosh!_ In a wave of seawater the Nøkk had dragged him under again; Kristoff reappeared in a desperate lunge. "Th-there's one more thing! I lied about moving into your room after the wedding; the pink walls freak me out!"

"Fine, we can repaint!"

 _Splash!_ The Nøkk launched him straight out of the water into a deeper part of the ocean. "Kristoff!" Anna dove in and swam out to him.

"I don't want a huge wedding!" The Nøkk grabbed him, dragging him along, and Kristoff grabbed Anna so that she was practically water-skiing through the bay. "I don't like big crowds! I get stage fright!

"We'll keep the guest list small!"

"Official Ice Master-ing and Deliver-ing isn't a real thing! I'm not a real lord and everyone knows the only reason Elsa made me one was so that we could get married!"

"So what! That law is stupid anyway! Kristoff, just tell me what's really bothering you!"

"I'm tired of competing with Elsa for your attention!"

The momentum stopped, and Anna let out a little "whoa!" as she abruptly sank into the water. She resurfaced a moment later. _"That's_ the big secret?" Kristoff nodded, gasping and bobbing in the water, looking guilty. "Kristoff, you could have just _told_ me–"

"Anna!"

She turned and put up her hands as the Nøkk suddenly lunged at them again; the horse reared, and then quieted down. It lowered its head to the princess, and then sunk down into the water under her with a faint _schloop_ and rose up again with Anna on its back, calm as a tamed carriage-horse. "Oh," the princess said, surprised. "Huh, so you like me, do you?"

The spirit trotted over to the shore across the waves, leaving Kristoff to sigh and swim along after it. The horse vanished into seawater once it reached the beach, dropping Anna to land on her feet. Kristoff traipsed out of the water, sopping wet from head to toe.

"Anna–"

"You think Elsa takes too much of my attention?" The ice harvester sighed and half-shrugged, as if asking her what she wanted him to say. "I-I don't understand, why would you think that? Have I been ignoring you?" She covered her mouth. "Kristoff, if I've been ignoring you–"

"It's not just that. Look, Anna…I didn't want to bring it up, but last night, you kind of scared me." She blinked at him, turquoise eyes wide.

"I scared you?"

"You just… jumped in after Elsa, even though it was dangerous. I mean I've worked around ice and lakes my whole life, I'm a better swimmer than you, but you just…didn't even think about it." He took a deep breath. "When you went under the water, I was scared you wouldn't come back up."

Anna's face softened from confusion to understanding. "Oh. Kristoff, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you–"

"You do this, you know? I mean, you ran into a snowstorm after her," Kristoff said, laughing a little. "And I'm not saying you did anything wrong, but… is that what our marriage is going to be? You running after Elsa whenever she does something dangerous, and me running after you?"

Anna winced. "Can we sit down?" Kristoff nodded, and then took a seat on the boulder again, still dripping wet. "I know. I know I do that," the princess sighed. "It's just…"

"I know, you just got her back. I get it. And I love how much you love her. But you're just as important as Elsa, Anna. And…so am I."

"I know that–"

"You don't always act like it," he pointed out. "You always put her first…usually above yourself."

The princess didn't answer right away, instead turning to look at the ship. In the distance she could see the sailor moving around on it, like a tiny ant. Kristoff squeezed her hand. "Anna?"

"Hans was thirteenth in line for his own kingdom." She turned back to her fiancé with an eye-roll. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I think the way he reacted to that was _way_ overboard. And…mother and father never treated me like insurance, the way his parents did him and his brothers." A look of understanding dawned on Kristoff's face. "But I'm the spare, Kristoff, just like he was."

"Anna…"

"And sometimes, when you grow up your whole life knowing that your purpose is to support someone else, it can be hard to get that out of your head."

"You're _not_ a spare," he said firmly, gripping her hand. "Not to me. Not in our relationship." Anna smiled. "I mean don't get me wrong, your sister's great, but she's not really my type." The princess snorted. "And you don't exist for Elsa's sake. You exist for _you._ Just… please." He squeezed her hand. "Promise me that if Elsa ever really puts herself in danger, you'll think about yourself before rushing in after her."

"Kristoff…"

"Please, Anna."

He looked so worried that she relented—at least partly. "I promise that if Elsa ever really gets herself in trouble that I'll…do whatever's the next right thing."

He bit his tongue, and then nodded. "Okay. That's fair."

They hugged, and then Anna leaned her head on his shoulder. "So Elsa's not really your type, huh?" she teased. Kristoff groaned.

"I think we'd probably kill each other."

"I thought ice is your life?"

"Eh, well." He grinned at her. "I've got a new life now." Anna beamed up at him. "And it's a lot warmer than ice. Friendlier, too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…"

For the second time that day, interruption knocked and prevented what would surely, Anna thought, have been an _excellent_ kiss. She looked over as someone cleared his throat loudly and then gave the ex-prince a withering glare.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Hans said dryly, "but the ship's ready."

"Well the ship can go–"

"We'll be there in a minute," Kristoff replied, shooting her a _don't give him the satisfaction_ look, and Hans raised his eyebrows. "Olaf's around here somewhere…"

The delighted cackling in the distance drew their eyes out to the bay, where the Nøkk was running in figure-eights. Apparently the ex-prince was able to at least take a hint, because the no-good pair of walking sideburns went off to get the snowman. Kristoff sighed and stood up. "I guess we'd probably better get back to the ship."

"Probably," Anna agreed. They were just about to walk back when she said suddenly, "Wait, hang on, I forgot something."

"What? _–Mmf!"_

The kiss was quick and feisty and left him gaping when she pulled away with a mischievous wink. "That," Anna trilled, and then fairly skipped away, leaving him to stare after her with a dazed grin.

_Man, I can't wait to get married._

* * *

They left the coast behind and ventured out into the open sea in fair spirits and fairer winds; after the storm and unsettling events of the night, the sunlight and brisk breeze was a welcome relief. Elsa was just peering out over the bulwark in wonder, watching the coast drift away, when she heard a distinct _knock knock kn-knock knock_ on the wood, and she looked over.

"Hey," Anna said, looking sheepish.

"Hey."

"Can we talk?" The queen nodded awkwardly, and the princess walked closer. "I'm sorry," she said, pulling her fingers and wincing. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry–"

"No, you had every right to be upset. I was in the wrong." The queen hesitated, and then stepped closer. "I just… the idea of losing you again, Anna, I…"

"I know. I feel the same way." She looked out at the ocean, the wind tugging at her red hair, and the queen realized for the first time that Anna really did look more grown up than she'd remembered. It helped that the princess had stopped wearing her hair in the twin braids she'd worn since childhood. "Kristoff and I had a little talk," Anna admitted, "and I realized that you're just trying to protect me… the same way I try to protect you." She turned back and held out a hand; the queen accepted it. "But we're both grown up now, and have to lead our own lives, make our own mistakes. And that's okay." She squeezed her sister's hand with a cheeky smile. "I guess we both have to accept that we can't protect people from everything, right?"

Elsa had just opened her mouth to answer when a voice called out, "Glad to see you two have made up." They looked over to see Hans approaching—clad in his gloves, grey overcoat, and with a sword at his waist. "Hopefully this time won't involve me getting punched off a boat."

"I'm sure that can still be arranged," Anna retorted. Hans gave her a _very funny_ look. "Anyway, seriously? You're going to wear _that?"_ Kristoff and Olaf had also approached and were eyeing the coat with distaste.

"What?" He glanced around at the four of them, and then down to his overcoat and sword, before scowling. "It's going to get cold! This is the only coat I have and I don't exactly feel like freezing to death!"

"And wouldn't that be just terrible, _gosh_ I can't even imagine," Anna drawled as she walked past him. Hans opened his mouth futilely and then shut it again. "You're not wrong, though; I should go put on something warmer. Kristoff?"

"Yeah, I think my gray sweater will work better…" He followed her down into the hull, and the ex-prince turned to the queen.

"What about you?"

"The cold doesn't bother me," she said, lifting her nose.

"This will. Trust me when I say you don't know cold until you've been to Ahtohallan; forgive me for bringing this up, but Anna froze back in Arendelle after you struck her heart, right?" The queen nodded uncomfortably; she still didn't like thinking about that particular loss of control. "The same thing started happening to me just by _being_ there. Even with your magic, I think you're bound to feel a little chilly, your Majesty; I suggest adding a few layers."

Elsa glared at him, and then rolled her eyes and waved her hand. The sheer snowflake cloak over her shoulders sprouted a furry snow lining, and her boots became thicker and insulated themselves with snow fluff, too. Hans gave a short nod and returned to the wheel, snapping the wheel-lock off and checking their direction by the compass.

* * *

It was this same compass which was to become the focus of a conversation later that day; around noon, Olaf came around with butter and bread for lunch, and the ex-prince took his absent-mindedly before once again checking their position against the compass and map. "Princess, if you could pull that rope there—yes, about that much, thank you." The sail caught the wind better, and the boat picked up pace.

"I thought you said the Dark Sea was incredibly dangerous," Anna said suspiciously as she climbed up the stairs again, crossing her arms at him. "But this–" she waved her hand around at the pristine chilly sea, "–Looks pretty calm to me."

"That's because we left after the storm, your Highness."

"Uh-huh. And I should believe that because…?"

"It's the truth." Hans sighed. "But of course you have no reason to believe that. We may as well resolve this with the others."

"Good idea," she said coolly, and called for Kristoff, Olaf and Elsa to join them on the upper half-deck. When they were all gathered, the sailor put the wheel-lock back on and crossed his arms, looking at them.

"Look, I know none of you trust me–" Anna gave a snort, and he held up a hand, "–And I don't blame you for that. Frankly this isn't an ideal position for any of us, but it's the position we're in and we need to adapt to it. I'm the only one here who knows how to sail, and when I give an order I need you to trust me _enough_ to follow it; otherwise we will all be very dead, very quickly."

"So you want us, the people you tried to pull a coup on, to follow your demands unquestioningly," Elsa said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, and I know how tall an order that is. So." He spread his hands. "What can I do or say that will make you believe me?"

The three royals and Olaf glanced around at each other. "Maybe some kind of collateral?" Kristoff offered. "Something we can hang on to until we get back to the Forest, to make sure you keep your word?"

"I don't have anything that valuable on the ship."

But Anna was studying him shrewdly. "What about your compass?"

Hans's hand immediately jumped to the pocket of his coat. "I'm sorry?"

"Your compass, I've seen the way you take care of it. It's special to you."

"Well for one thing, I'd need it for sailing–"

"Fine, then I'll keep it and stay up here on-deck. You can check it any time you like."

There was a pause, and then Hans half-chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, Anna. How I always underestimate you." He winced, took the compass out of his pocket and handed it over to her, looking as if his hand were resisting parting with it. Anna studied it; the silver top was embossed with a roaring lion with a heart in its mouth—the insignia of the Southern Royal Family. When she opened the top she saw that it had been engraved in Southern.

 _"Johannes Philip Westergård,"_ she read aloud. _"Til fremragende service."_

"The navy commended me for capturing a pirate ship off the coast of the Isles and rescuing some hostages. I used to have a medal, too, but of course I lost it when I was dishonorably discharged." Anna looked up. Hans gave a slightly pained smile. "Well. Is that settled, then?"

The other three glanced around at each other and nodded. "Excellent. I suggest you all finish lunch and then get ready to help out up here." He took the lock off the wheel again and nodded to Anna; she opened the compass for him. "We're about to enter the most dangerous parts of the Dark Sea."

It turned out that a lot of sailing was just standing around waiting for something to happen; you were either bored or being given rapid-pace orders to _raise this_ or _get that._ It was nowhere near as fun as the adventure books she'd read as a kid made it sound, and within a few hours Anna had decided she was very much a "land-girl." At least when you traveled in a cart the scenery changed. She sighed and adjusted her cloak—a pretty forest-green cape, which she had gotten to replace her purple one a few years ago, and a good thing too. She could think of nothing more irritating than being around Sideburns in that girlish outfit.

"How does he not lose his mind out here?" she grumbled to her sister, who had come up to join her on the deck, novel in hand. Elsa shrugged and turned the page. "We keep moving but nothing changes."

"You could read quietly to pass the time," her sister pointed out, which was enough of a hint even for Anna to pick up on. The princess scowled and leaned out against the bulwark, counting waves as they crashed in the distance. _One… two… three… four…_

No… not four. Anna squinted. That wave wasn't crashing the way the others did. In fact the more she looked at it the less it looked like a wave—more like little rocks out in the middle of the ocean. She accepted that hypothesis for a moment, before the impossibility of such a thing occurred to her, and she turned to her sister. "What are those?"

"Hm? What are what?"

"Those, there." Anna pointed out to the horizon, and Elsa looked up. Her annoyed expression faded into confusion as she saw the same phenomenon Anna was talking about.

"I'm… not sure." She looked back over her shoulder. "Mr. Westergård?"

"Sorry?"

The queen pointed to the ridges in the water, and Hans frowned, tilting his head. "What are they?" the queen inquired.

"I'm…not sure. I've never seen those before…"

_[Musical suggestion: SKÁLD's "Gliepnir."]_

The sailor stepped forward, one hand still on the wheel, as he peered into the sea. In the far distance, something flashed and moved, and then another thing after it—like the shape of a wave, but cutting through the waves. The sailor's eyes narrowed, searching, and for a moment the very sky held its breath.

Then his eyes widened.

"Sea monster."

_"...What?"_

Hans turned at Anna's nervous voice. "Sea monster," he said again. "You!" Kristoff startled. "You have any experience in fighting?"

"Uh– some, I guess–"

"Good. Queen Elsa, with us, let's put those snowflakes to good use. Snowman, hide behind those barrels there and don't interfere. Anna, take the wheel."

"What? Hans, I don't–!"

"Just hold our course north; I have full faith in you."

He gave her a charming smile and clapped her on the shoulder before rushing ahead to the front of the boat. Anna was incensed. _"Hans!"_

By the time they reached the prow of the ship, the queen noticed, the sailor's smile was gone and had been replaced by a grim expression; he pulled out a telescope and looked through it. "I thought sea monsters didn't exist," Elsa said nervously.

"They don't—not anymore. Look." He handed the spyglass to her and she peered through it.

Water has memories. But like water, memories can become diluted with time. They can grow grandiose, stretching beyond their truth, towering in the minds of men, so that the creature before them was at least half-mythical in its proportions. In the sea's defense, however, it had a lot of truth to work with. These waters remembered a king which had once ruled their depths, an apex predator whose memory still haunted its waves and made smaller fish cower at a shadow crossing the watery sun. The water clung to this half-diluted memory and conformed to its image: an image of fins and scales, of a long muscular tale and rows and rows of sharp teeth, copied down to the most minute detail in glittering crystalline ice.

In her Majesty's day, the study of these ancient beasts was only just becoming a respectable field. Today, we have a name for this leviathan. It is called the Mosasaur.

The three combatants readied themselves; Hans drew his sword and Kristoff his ice-pick. Elsa clenched her hands, frost sprouting anxiously across the deck below her feet.

"This is fine, right?" She glanced at the sailor out of the corner of her eye; Hans was peering uncertainly out at the approaching creature. "I mean, our ancestors used to do this all the time."

"I don't know about your ancestors–" She drew her gaze back to the beast, "–but all mine ever did was burn down a few villages in Dun Broch."

Hans nodded tersely. "Touché."

Behind them, Anna gripped the wheel tightly, looking to the right and left. The monster's tail, just ahead of them, vanished under the water, and for a moment she thought they'd lost it, until she saw the ribbon-like spine rising and falling out of the waves beside them. "Um, Hans?" she called.

The sailor clenched his jaw. "The stories say it'll try to wrap itself around the ship and capsize it. We'll attack it when it's lying parallel across the deck." The other two nodded. "On my count."

Something brushed along the underside of the boat. Something scraped along the side of the hull.

Something rose out of the water, teeth and tongue and bulbous ice eye gaping.

_"NOW!"_

Kristoff hit it in the face with his ice pick.

The shrieking _crack_ of ice exploding rang through the air, coupled by the screech of the beast as it fell backwards into the water; for a moment they were safe, before the reformed head lunged out of the sea, across the breadth of the boat and plunged into the opposite side of the sea.

_"Go! Go!"_

Kristoff hacked at the exposed neck; there was a groaning creak of timbers as the creature began to tighten over the boat, and then Hans plunged his sword into the space between two ice scales right over where the spine would have been; the creature writhed and then there was a sickening _splat_ as the neck melted back into water and splashed to the deck.

"Don't let it tighten over the boat or it'll break the timbers!" Hans roared, as the ribbon-arch of the creature's back appeared over the other side of the ship again. "Anna, take us to the starboard!"

_"What?!"_

"Right! To the right!"

Anna swung the wheel; the ship careened away from where the monster now rippled below the ocean waves. A horrible gurgling, snarling sound reverberated through the air, and then the head shot out of the water again; Elsa swept her hand and the head shattered into a million icy shards which turned to droplets that rained down on the trio. The monster's head reappeared a moment later, swimming parallel to the painted dragon's-head prow of the ship. She shot another blast of magic at it, but the serpent dove sideways out of the way and under the sea again. "How do we get rid of it if we can't kill it?!" she shouted to Hans.

"We can't beat it, so we need to make ourselves too much of a nuisance to be worth the effort–" The splash of water behind him was his only warning, and just barely enough; he rolled out of the way and turned, cutting in a wide arc at the soft underside of the serpent's mouth. The sword released a gush of water as the creature hissed and lunged again. Hans dodged back as Kristoff dove forward and landed another blow, causing the head to disintegrate into water.

The battle seemed endless, snapshots of time flitting through the combatants' minds: the queen diving out of the way to avoid the onrushing icy teeth. The ice harvester shattering through the monstrous neck in one titanic blow. The princess steering the ship towards the west as a sudden gale filled the sails. The ex-prince, dodging and weaving with expert swordsmanship around a twisting and snarling maw.

The ship swayed back to its northward course as Anna pulled the wheel to center; the trio stood back-to-back-to-back, peering out at the sea. "Where is it?" Elsa wondered nervously. Olaf peeked out from behind the barrels, wide-eyed. Hans scanned the sea to the port-side of the boat. Everything seemed calm.

So he started running.

He reached the wheel just in time; the monster's head shot out of the water and lunged at Anna just as Hans barrelled into her and shoved her out of the way; the serpent's jaws careened towards the wheel and just barely managed to avoid it, swerving and jerking back with a hiss.

" _Queen Elsa!"_

The volley of icicles struck before the monster even knew what had happened, driving it backwards into the ocean. Hans turned back with heart-pounding relief. "Thank–"

But the queen wasn't done. With an upwards sweep of her hand, massive icicles materialized out of the seawater, hovering in the air; the others had a terrifying vision of the queen, platinum hair whipping around her face in the wind and hands glowing an unearthly blue—before she executed another sweep, and the missiles plunged out and downwards into the sea.

The ship rose on a sudden tide of displaced water, and then there came the unmistakable muted _thud-thud-thuds_ of several of the icicles hitting something massive below the water. A keening screech, muted by the water, echoed up from the sea, and something moved against the underside of the hull one last time, heading for the back of the ship. Hans stepped forward, sword at the ready, but there was no need; the sea serpent reappeared several seconds later in the distance, still emitting its angry howls before slipping below the sea. Then there was silence.

"…Is it gone?" Anna whispered. Hans nodded, still breathing hard.

"We did it." He turned around to face her and the rest of his strange crew. "We did it!"

"Hooray!"

"Oh thank goodness…"

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Elsa, that was _amazing!"_ Anna was nearly beside herself in glee. "How did you _do_ that?"

"I think the word you're looking for is 'terrifying,'" Kristoff wheezed, sinking to his knees.

"The important thing is that you all set aside your differences and worked together," Olaf praised, patting the ice harvester's knee, "which when you think about it was the real victory all along."

"That was some powerful magic, your Majesty," Hans appreciated.

"That was… I don't know _what_ that was." Elsa was peering down at her hands in awe. "I haven't done anything that powerful since I built the ice palace…"

"My ma's looked like that sometimes," Kristoff offered, "when she was healing people who were in a bad way. Sometimes the whole tent would light up."

"And _that,"_ Hans said, turning to Anna, "was some impressive sailing for a beginner, your Highness."

"It wasn't all me." Anna looked up, to where a certain helpful was still puffing away at one of the sails. "Gale helped us out."

"The Spirits are on our side," Elsa said fondly. Gale swirled down out of the sail and around them, settling in a small whirlwind Elsa's outstretched hands, and the queen smiled.

* * *

All told, everyone was in a much better mood that evening than they had been the night before. Since Hans was the only one who knew how to sail properly, and he could hardly stay up all night, they lowered the sails so that the ship was more or less settled peacefully bobbing on the sea. Kristoff cooked dinner again from the ship's rations, and the atmosphere in the mess hall was homey and friendly when they all sat down to eat. Something about facing down a deadly sea monster together made it easier to put the past behind them.

"Brr, you weren't kidding about the cold," Anna said, warming her hands over the stove after having come down from above-decks. Hans shrugged.

"It's not as bad as I remembered, actually. Though to be fair, last time I came through this way I was already freezing over…"

"Soup's on," Kristoff said, ladling out bowls of stew. "Elsa?"

The queen was still watching out the porthole window, the seawater beyond the glass sloshing up and down. The sun was setting over the sea, and the waves cast long shadows in the violet and indigo light. And again, there was the Voice…

_Ah-ah, ah-ah-ayh!_

"It's going to keep calling until we get there," Hans advised, tucking into his own meal. "Nothing you can do but ignore it."

"I suppose…" The queen came and sat down.

"How far away are we?" Anna asked the ex-prince.

"Another day, roughly. It's not actually that far away, just hard to get to."

"It sounds _amazing,"_ Olaf sighed dreamily. "A completely frozen world filled with magic." The others shared amused glances. "What's it like?"

Hans shook his head. "I didn't go in–didn't even leave the ship. But Yelena told me once that all the legends say it's a place of infinite mirrors, with ice clearer than glass—so clear it will show you your truest self, and all the secrets of your past—and everyone else's, if you can find them. But dive too far–"

"–And you'll be drowned," Elsa finished.

Olaf was enthralled. "Your _truest self?"_

"So the legends say."

_"Wow…"_

Hans gave a dry chuckle. "I'm guessing that's why people don't just set out on little trips to the glacier whenever they want to know things—well, that and the Dark Sea, anyway. Who wants to look their truest selves in the eye, really?" He picked up his spoon again. "Oh sure, we all say we want to be honest with ourselves, because we like to think of ourselves as honest people. But when you get right down to it, most people are selfish and self-deceiving."

"I don't think that's true," Anna objected. "I think most people care about others and want to help them."

Hans gave her a disbelieving look. "Seriously? Your Highness, remember who you're talking to."

"You're helping us now, aren't you?" she pointed out. "You didn't have to, but you are."

"Only because I owe you and Yelena a favor."

"Well, there you are, then." Hans rolled his eyes and took another bite of his stew, though he looked somewhat pleased.

"What will you do," Kristoff asked, "if we figure out how to bring down the Mist?"

Hans hesitated. "Actually…" He set down his spoon and looked at Elsa. "That depends on her Majesty." She raised her eyebrows. "I have some amends to make. Clearly. And if I can be of service to Arendelle, I'd very much like to offer my talents."

"Oh." The queen was surprised. "I-I hadn't really thought of that…it's not a bad idea."

"Only if you agree, of course." He went back to eating, but soon felt the eyes on him and looked up. "Ehm, obviously with your approval as well, your Highness."

But Anna's eyes remained narrowed. "Why Arendelle?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why Arendelle?" The rest of the table had gone quiet. Even Olaf had sensed the tension, glancing between the two uncertainly.

Hans cleared his throat. "If you're not comfortable with the idea, of course I underst–"

"You're not answering my question. Your family exiled you, right?" Hans stiffened. "You could go anywhere in the world, so why go back to the one place where people hate your guts?"

"As I said, I want to make amends–"

"There are plenty of other ways to soothe your guilty conscience," Anna cut him off. "And this is a pretty sudden change of heart, Hans, from not wanting to have anything to do with us a few days ago. I think there's something you want in Arendelle, something you can only get there."

"Look, I've learned my lesson about trying to usurp other people's thrones–"

"Right, but it's not the throne you want now, is it?" She studied him, and then snapped her fingers. "You want a pardon."

"Is that so terrible?" Hans replied, voice growing colder.

"You want to make amends, you said. But why Arendelle? I'll tell you why: because you want to _redeem_ yourself."

"You say that like it's a–"

"Oh, please. You really expect me to believe your family stripped you of all your inheritance and possessions and kicked you out of the Isles, but they let you keep that compass? You said you've changed a lot since I met you, Hans, well so have I, and I'm not some naïve kid anymore!"

The eyes of the rest of the table swiveled between the two: the increasingly sharp princess, half on her feet, and the increasingly cornered-looking ex-prince, who was starting to get tense. "No way, not a chance. You risked everything just to sneak that little trinket out with you, because it's proof of who you really are. Because even though the Northuldra have been kind to you and accepted you, it's just not _enough_ for you, is it? It's not enough for you to just be a normal person, instead of a prince." Anna crossed her arms. "That's it, isn't it. That's why you're looking for a way past the Mist. Because you want to go back to the Southern Isles."

Hans didn't answer, and Elsa was surprised to find that Anna's tone was getting genuinely angry. "After _everything_ they did to you, you're just going to go _running back?"_

"You don't know what you're talking about," Hans muttered.

 _"I_ don't know what I'm talking about? _Excuse_ you, but I happen to have some _experience_ in letting go of bad relationships! You don't see me crawling back to _you,_ do you?"

"Anna–" Elsa interjected softly, uncomfortable, but her sister ignored her.

"You told me yourself how rotten your family is, you spent _hours_ talking about it; why would you ever want to go back?"

"I was ungrateful," he said stiffly. "I presumed that the privilege of my name was a right; if I hadn't been so foolish–"

"The 'privilege of your name?' Hans, they pretended you were invisible! Why would you even _want_ to share a name with them?!"

"Being a Westergård is an honor, an _identity!_ I thought a princess of all people would understand what that means!"

"They've _disowned_ you; why shouldn't you do the same to them!"

"What happened was _my_ fault, and _I'm_ the one who has to fix it! And if it takes the rest of my life, Anna, the rest of my _life,_ I _will_ fix it!"

"And then what, you think they'll take you back? You know that's not true!"

"You don't know that! They're my own blood, my family–"

_"They don't love you!"_

Hans froze.

"Why can't you just _accept_ that?!" Anna cried furiously, tears brimming in her eyes. "They treated you like you were _nothing,_ like you didn't even exist! Why can't you stop chasing after something you're never going to get?! Why do you _need_ their approval so _badly?!"_

The ex-prince's face had gone white as a sheet, sitting stock-still. Kristoff reached out and set a hand on Anna's arm.

"Okay, Anna. I think that's enough."

"But–"

"You've made your point. I think we should all just… calm down, cool off a bit. Okay?"

Anna looked at him, and then back at the prince. "Here." Her voice caught on an angry half-sob as she pulled the compass out of her pocket and tossed it down on the table; it hit the wood with a dull _clunk._ "Take your stupid compass back." Hans stared down at the hunk of metal as the princess stalked towards the door, and then turned back.

"None of it meant anything, did it. Everything you put me through, put _us_ through, it didn't mean _anything_ to you. You didn't even learn from it." Hans looked up at her, eyes reddened and filled with fury. "You haven't changed at all. You'd still do whatever it takes just to get someone, _anyone_ to _notice_ you. Anyone except me, apparently."

"Anna, you didn't even know my last name," he sneered.

She held his gaze for a moment, and then turned stalked off to the cabin. They heard the door slam shut. Then the ship was silent.

"...Well," Olaf said delicately, but not quite delicately enough. "That was uncomfortable–"

Hans stood up abruptly and grabbed the compass of the table. "I should get the sails up," he muttered, and then disappeared out the mess door and up the steps.

Kristoff and Elsa shared an uncomfortable look. "…The, um," the queen said at last, "the stew is really good…"

"Don't patronize me," he sighed, standing up and covering the pot.

* * *

It was much later that evening when Elsa stirred awake again, looking towards the cabin porthole. The distant echoing voice repeated its call, and she was about to roll over and go back to sleep when something else caught her ear: the sound of Kristoff's lute, and a distant voice humming from the deck up above her head. For a moment she thought it was Kristoff, before she realized that the voice was further away than the lute, which sounded as if it were in the next room.

Intrigued, she got out of bed and left Anna behind, sneaking into the hallway. She peeked her head into the mess tent and saw, to her absolute bewilderment, that the lute was not in Kristoff's hands—in fact, it wasn't anywhere near him, but rather leaning up against the wall at the foot of his hammock. When she peered closer, she saw, to her shock, that the lute was playing _itself._

Or was it? The plucking of the strings broke off momentarily as an unseen breeze ruffled around her and then shot back to the instrument, and resumed the tune. Elsa smiled to herself; the helpful little wind-spirit which Olaf had named Gale was quickly proving to be an indispensable part of the team. But then she frowned; Kristoff was down here, so who was the source of the humming?

_[Musical suggestion: Pierrot L'asticot's cover of "Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme" (on YouTube).]_

HANS: _(Distant)_ Længe har jeg trådt min vej;

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Mørket er tæt og vinden sej.

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme…

.

_(Elsa's head turns towards the stairs up to the deck as the humming turns into singing. Intrigued, she heads up the stairs, while the lute continues to play in the background.)_

HANS: Jeg traver i skoven og løber i by'n.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Jeg tror vist nok jeg har haft et syn.

_(She stops suddenly as a chorus of new voices joins the first, and then hurries up the stairs, bewilder.)_

HANS/VOICES: Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

.

_(Elsa reaches the top of the stairs and stops dead, mouth falling open. The deck is filled with an eerie fog, which takes the form of ghostly other "Hanses," all singing the same song in strange harmonies:)_

HANS/GHOSTS: En aften kom jeg til søens bred.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Engen var smuk og alt åndede fred.

_(Elsa looks around, frightened, and sees the real Hans standing beside a bulwark near the wheel.)_

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

.

_(Reassured, she turns to investigate the ghostly "Hanses" and finds, to her surprise, that they don't all look the same. Some are clearly younger; several in navy uniforms are performing "tasks" about the boat—adjusting imaginary sails, checking imaginary barometer readings, etc. One is pushing a shovel, and she smirks. The real Hans does not seem bothered by them.)_

HANS/GHOSTS: Da så jeg i mørket en blå-lilla mand.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Han dansede rundt på tuer og vand.

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

.

_(One ghost, clearly a young teenager, rushes past her in a formal jacket, humming, a school-bag spilling with papers slung over his shoulder. Elsa steps back, startled, and watches him hurry to the edge of the boat and vanish.)_

HANS/GHOSTS: Snart sprang han op og snart sprang han ned.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Snart ha'de jeg glemt, hvad det var jeg hed.

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme

_._

_(She looks back to the real Hans as the mist-figures leave a temporary clearing; she can see that he is peering down at a navigation chart and measuring distances with a divider and the silver compass, singing absent-mindedly. The strongest voice in the chorus is coming from him.)_

HANS/GHOSTS: Med ét var der tre af de lysende små.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Jeg styrtede rundt på må og få.

_(His brow furrows further as he marks another point.)_

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

.

_(Elsa takes a step forward, tilting her head, curious, as she passes through the mist figures. Neither they nor the real Hans notice her.)_

HANS/GHOSTS: Han lokked' mig, han gløded' som kul.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Jeg løb og faldt i et mosehul.

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej—

_(The other "Hanses" freeze mid-task, and the living man finishes alone, melancholy:)_

–skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

.

_(Ghostly figures resume tasks, pacing around Elsa as she comes to halt at the top of the half-deck's steps. Hans frowns down at the map, still oblivious to her presence. The silver compass glitters in his hand.)_

HANS/GHOSTS: I stedet for lykken jeg tro'de at få,

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme.

Der sad jeg med mudder og andemad på.

Lys, lygtemand lys. Vis mig vej – skatten vil jeg finde.

Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme…

.

The voices echoed eerily in the frozen air as Hans trailed off, folding his plotting paper up again and tucked it back inside his coat pocket. The misty figures faded into the night; Elsa caught one last glimpse of a younger sailor peering in a melancholy way off the left bulwark before he vanished, and the two living souls were left alone.

"I can see why Anna fell for that voice."

Hans looked up from his task, surprised. "Queen Elsa." He snapped the compass shut. She approached him, her periwinkle dress glistening faintly in the moonlight.

"How did you do that?" she asked in mild awe, peering over the sides of the boat. The ghostly foam-and-mist figures had vanished entirely, leaving no traces behind.

But the sailor shook his head. "Not me; Ahtohallan." He gestured vaguely to the sea as he pulled back on his glove. "We're close; some of this water is melt-off from the glacier. There's magic in it, and water–"

"–Has memory," she finished, nodding. "So those voices were…you?"

"Versions of me, from the past. And I've sung that song a good few times. I'll admit, I'm proud of my voice," he added, returning to the wheel. "It's one asset I didn't lose when they stripped me of my titles, and the navy taught me that singing while working is free, so it was one of the few pleasures I had left in prison."

"What was the song about? I only caught parts of it; my Southern isn't as good as your Arendellian." He gave a bare smile at that, turning to the wheel.

"Hm." He snapped the wheel-lock off and took the wheel back. "About a very stupid man who follows the temptation to take what doesn't belong to him, and ends up covered in mud and filth."

Elsa half-smirked. "I see…" She waited for several seconds as the former prince adjusted the ship's course back towards the pole stars, and then said, "I want to apologize, on Anna's behalf. I don't think she realizes she crossed a line…"

Hans snorted. "Anna could have punched me overboard again and she still wouldn't owe me an apology, for anything. At worst she was…vindictively honest."

"She means well. Really, she does. She's just a little–"

"Pushy?"

"Headstrong…"

Hans "hmed." "Well. You can't blame her."

"No. I can't." Her voice turned colder. "It might help if you apologized, you know. Or acted even a little repentant."

"Anna doesn't want my apologies," Hans said simply. "She wants to see that I'm getting my just desserts. And if this humiliating turn of events doesn't do the trick for her, she can hit me again."

"Even so, you _owe_ her an apology. Whether she wants it or not."

Hans hesitated a moment, and then nodded. "You're right. I do." He tilted his head at her, curious. "I'm surprised you're not demanding an apology yourself."

Elsa brushed this off. "I can take care of myself. What you did to me was a history lesson; what you did to her was _personal."_ She saw his eyes flicker away. "Or hadn't you realized that?"

"I had, yes…"

"But you're right, there is one thing I want an apology for. I want an apology for all the months it took for her to get over you, to trust people again. What you did—it made it difficult for her to really trust me, to trust Kristoff. I was worried she might never be her old self again." Her blue eyes were watching him. "You really hurt her, you know."

Hans sighed. "I know. And whether you believe me or not, I'm sorry for that now. It took me a while, but I think I finally understand."

"How could you possibly understand?" she demanded, tone slightly acidic. But the prince didn't answer right away, staring out at the black water skimming past the boat, and she tilted her head and waited. When it became clear she wasn't going to give up, he relented and admitted:

"...Despite what you all seem to have assumed—and you'll pardon me for not disabusing you—my family didn't exile me, I escaped. I found out they'd set a date for executing me."

"Execution?" Elsa's eyes widened, her own grievances momentarily forgotten. "But they told us you were doing manual labor–"

"Yeah, well, that's what they told me, too. Now when I say 'execution,' mind, I don't mean the public sort with a noose and a hangman, I mean the bribe-the-guards-to-look-the-other-way kind." Elsa caught the meaning and nodded. "I'd become too much of a national embarrassment and was holding the kingdom back, so my family decided to handle it the old-fashioned way."

"That's awful…"

"Nobody told me any of this, of course, I just overheard the guards talking one night; I suppose they thought I'd go more quietly if I didn't know what I was going _to._ Well, they were right." His face twisted with self-disgust. "Slaving away in that stable, thinking maybe, just _maybe,_ when I'd served my time they'd…"

"Take you back?" she suggested quietly. Hans didn't answer. "And even after all that, you still believe it? That they'll accept you someday?"

"I'm not stupid." His voice was bitter. "But everyone needs something to live for, don't they? Even if it's just a delusion." He sighed again. "I know it's pathetic. I imagine Anna felt pretty pathetic, after the way I treated her." Elsa bit her tongue, and he waved his hand. "You don't have to tell me, I can pretty well guess. Stupid. Duped, naïve, pathetic…like you should have seen it coming, should have seen _something_ coming!"

"That's…actually pretty accurate, from what I saw, yes."

He barked a laugh. "Yeah, I bet. So, Queen Elsa, that's how I know. I know what an absolute _monster_ I was to you and your sister, because I've recently gotten a pretty good idea how it feels to be at the bottom of the pecking order." He stared out at the sea in a black mood, and the queen bit her lip.

"Can I ask you something?" He shrugged. "Do you regret what happened in Arendelle? Do you feel any remorse for it at all?"

"Yes," he said quietly. "I do."

"Truly?"

"Truly. But, since we're being truthful, I'll also admit that I do my best not to think about it." He turned his head to look at her. "I ruined my life, Queen Elsa. Everything I thought I was, or could be—it's all gone now. I never thought I'd be the man bringing down a sword on some innocent young woman, but here we are, and I've got nothing to show for it but a guilty conscience and an old boat." He looked back out at the sea, adjusting the wheel. "So you'll understand if I say I try to think about that day as little as possible."

They lapsed into a reflective quiet. Elsa watched him, curious. The ex-prince had one hand on the wheel, while the other had opened the compass again and was checking the direction of the boat against the white arrow. The occasional frigid puff of air pulled at his tied-back hair, and maybe it was a trick of the light and his beard, but his face looked like it had filled out—like a man who had finally gotten around eating better and sleeping more, and worrying less. Her eyes dropped to the compass in his hand, and she saw the moonlight glinting off the silver—off the crest of the lion with the heart in its mouth. And of course, Anna had to have been wrong about that, then: he hadn't snuck it out with him; no, he must have risked death to go _back_ for it. For one little trinket to prove his true identity.

She wondered to whom.

"Anna might be pushy," she said at last, "but she's right." The ex-prince didn't answer. "You seem happier out here. Not that I really knew you back then, but…"

He sighed. "Even if that's true, Queen Elsa, why do you care?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You should hate the man who tried to kill you. Like your sister does. I wouldn't blame you, and you don't owe me your help."

Elsa half-smiled ruefully despite herself. "The man who tried to kill me also kept my people safe and fed. I haven't forgotten that, even if Anna has. And I haven't forgotten who gave me that blanket when I was unconscious. You didn't have to help me either, but you did." He didn't seem to have a reply to that. "And for the record, I'm not just out here for your sake," she added vaguely, walking to the bulwark and looking out over the gently waving sea and the million blazing stars. It was so cold that even _her_ breath had begun to frost in the air. Hans glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"It's a good place to think." He looked forward again. "Quiet."

"Mm. Wouldn't it be nice if it stayed that way?"

"Touché."

For a few moments neither said anything, but Elsa knew that _he_ knew she would give in eventually. She drew a breath and then stopped.

"Please, don't hold back on my account," the sailor said dryly, adjusting the course.

"Sometimes I wonder if…" She trailed off.

He waited a moment, and then prompted: "If?"

Elsa sighed. "It's not really your business."

Hans shrugged. "True. But, then again, I'm pretty much a stranger over whose life you have complete control, if we ever get out of here, and a known liar and megalomaniac who nobody will believe, so you basically have nothing to lose."

"Except you using my secrets to emotionally manipulate me."

He considered that. "Fair enough."

They fell into silence again. After a moment, however, the queen breathed in deep through her nose.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when we get back to Arendelle. _If_ we get back to Arendelle. Whatever my father found in Ahtohallan, it was bad, bad enough that he didn't want to tell our people. Anna thinks we should…"

She trailed off. "But you're not so sure," Hans finished.

Elsa didn't reply, looking out in a melancholy way at the Dark Sea. "It's times like this that make me wonder if I wonder if I'm really the right queen for Arendelle," she murmured, mostly to herself.

"You are."

She looked up. "What?"

"You were born to it. Who else would be? Except for Anna." When she didn't answer, he blinked in surprise. "Anna? Seriously?"

 _"You_ were going to make her queen once," Elsa said defensively.

"Because you were completely standoffish and impossible to get close to." She shrugged self-consciously, and Hans' brow furrowed. _"That's_ why you think Anna would be a better queen? Just because she's a 'people-person?'" He squinted at her shrewdly. "Or is it that she's better at breaking bad news?"

"Our citizens love her, she's a natural diplomat–"

"But diplomats and queens are not the same thing," he pointed out. "Look, Anna is reckless. You act from the head; she acts from the heart. Sometimes that's a good thing; now that I've had some time to think about things, I'll admit, you need both to run a kingdom. But running a kingdom is like running a ship:–" He turned back to the wheel, "–good intentions and a lot of heart can only get you so far. You need a cool head and a lot of training to get you through the storms."

"I suppose…" But her tone was a mixture of guilty and skeptical. The ex-prince sighed.

"Queen Elsa. I know I'm probably the last person you want giving you hard truths, but if you want my honest opinion I'll share it." She hesitated, and then gestured for him to continue. "You run away from your problems," Hans said bluntly. "From big decisions or big responsibilities. When things get hard, you retreat, whereas Anna takes them on headfirst; _that's_ your problem, not your lack of interpersonal skills."

"Excuse me, I do not–"

"Do you want the truth or not?" She closed her mouth, and he gave her a nod. "You might not like it, but you know I'm right. Who was it that took care of your kingdom when you froze it over? Not you, the _queen,_ and not Anna, either. You ran away, she shot off after you, and you both left it in the hands of some stranger. Now if I might brag, I did a pretty good job. But it wasn't _my job,_ however much I wanted it." He gestured broadly with his arms. "I would have killed to be where you are. I almost _did."_

"Yes, yes, I know how lucky I am, thank you," she said sourly.

"That's not what I meant. You have the ability to _change things._ Make the world a _better_ place. Your Majesty, I'll be frank with you, life in the Isles is not good for our citizens. Poverty and corruption are daily constants. I wanted to change that, to build my country into something worth being _proud_ of, but for some reason we have a system where my corrupt hedonist father and half-wit brother get to rule instead of–"

"Charismatic madmen?"

"People with ideas," he said lightly, "people who want to see real progress and improvements for their people. Being a queen gives you that power, but it also means making the difficult decisions, the decisions that your people _won't_ like you for, because it's the right thing to do."

"My father used to tell me that our job was to always do what was best for Arendelle," she argued. "That's what a ruler does, they put their kingdom first–"

"No, Queen Elsa, a ruler _rules."_ His green eyes flashed to her. "Do you still not understand? After all this time?" Her brow furrowed in confusion, and he met her eyes with a mixture of annoyance and deadly gravity. "Queen Elsa: you _are_ Arendelle. If you put Arendelle first, so will Arendelle. You set the rule, the _standard_ of how your people will act. Where you lead, they will follow—for better or worse." She pursed her lips uncomfortably and looked away. "And _as_ Arendelle, you have an obligation to face whatever it is your parents found in Ahtohallan. That was what you agreed to when you took the scepter and orb into your hands. Maybe it was just another hurdle of pageantry to you, but to those of us in that room with you? That was the moment Arendelle had a face and a name again. _That_ was what your coronation meant to us."

"Maybe that was what it meant to you," she said quietly. "To me, I just wanted to get through the day without losing control of my powers." Her hands tightened as a fine layer of frost spread across the bulwark. "If my father thought this was meant to stay a secret, maybe it's because Arendelle isn't ready to know the truth."

"And how did keeping secrets work out for your family?" Hans asked coolly. "Look, take it from someone who's had a lot of time to ruminate over how my personal failings got me where I am: you can't just run away or shift your responsibilities onto someone else because you're not the person you're supposed to be. That's not self-knowledge, your Majesty, it's cowardice." She didn't answer, chided, and he softened his tone: "And for whatever my opinion's worth, I think, some personal failings aside, you will make a good queen. Maybe even a great one, if you give yourself the chance."

She smiled despite herself, leaning against the bulwark. "It's strange, hearing that from you."

The man barked a laugh. "I know the feeling. It was strange saying it."

There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the sound of the waves against the hull. Then Elsa stepped back. "I should probably get some rest."

"Mm. Sleep well, your Majesty." He didn't look at her as she retreated to the door to the hull, but as she was setting her hand on the handle, he called out: "Queen Elsa?" She turned back. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Coming to cheer me up. You didn't need to. If anyone deserves to be kicked while he's down, it's me. Especially after what I did to you and your sister…"

The queen smiled ruefully. "Don't read too much into it. Besides, I owed you a favor."

"Oh? What for?"

"Saving my life."

Hans chuckled, ducking his head. "Well then. Consider your debt repaid."

"Hm. Goodnight, Pr– Goodnight, Mr. Westergård."

"Your Majesty."

She slipped inside the door to the hull and descended into the dark. Up on the deck, the former prince sighted his path by the light of the stars, and adjusted his course, aligning the prow of the boat again by the distant guide of the pole-star.

* * *

**A/N: If you would like to see an illustration for this chapter from the amazing Puryartist, check out** ** [https-colon-backslash-backslash] ffcrazy15[period]tumblr[period]com[backslash]post[backslash]626902823284752384[backslash]i-would-like-to-thank-the-amazing-and-unbelievably **

**For anyone who would like to know what Hans was singing, I've got an English translation down below; the original translation by Mikkel, which I have slightly edited can be found on lyricstranslate-dot-com.**

**Lyrics:**

_For a long time I've been wand'ring on._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

The darkness is dense and the wind rough.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_I wander through forest and wander through town._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

A dazzling vision I think I have seen.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_One night I approached the shore of a lake._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

The meadow was beautiful and at peace in the night.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

_._

_Then I saw a devil in the dark._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

He danced on the hills and danced on the waves.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_The devil jumped up and the devil jumped down._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

Soon after, I'd forgotten my own name.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_Suddenly there were three of the beguiling folk._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

I followed them here and followed them there.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_He lured me, shining bright as a coal._

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

I ran and fell right in the bog.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

.

_Instead of the happiness I thought I'd find,_

Oh, but my feet are so sore.

There I sat in the mud and filth.

Shine, lantern man, shine! Show me the way—the treasure I will find.

Oh, but my feet are so sore.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**Also, the idea of the symbols on the paper being a creation myth is not mine, but came from some other bright soul on the internet at NaClhv's "A Systematic Mythology of the Frozen Universe"**

* * *

_"Bail! Bail!"_

_"Olaf, watch out!"_

The boat pitched on the black waves and rolled down the side of a crest, masts tilting badly before righting again. Foam and icy seawater crashed over the bulwark and then vanished in clouds of snow, whisked away back out to sea. The world was painted in erratic vision of pitch-black and flashes of white lightning, illuminating the paltry crew struggling against the storm.

_"Everyone hold on!"_

A crack of lightning illuminated the swell above them. The captain swung the wheel, and everyone gripped tightly to the nearest piece of solid material and held on for dear life.

The high winds caught the jib and headsail and drove them forward as the massive wave crashed behind them.

 _"The winds are too high; we have to take the sails down! Queen Elsa!"_ The queen turned from her work, wide-eyed and white hair whipping in front of her face. _"Ice floats, right?!"_

* * *

"How does it look?"

The ex prince closed the door to the hull behind him. The rose and gold sunrise glowing on the faces of the group and the battered wood of the ship was a welcome sight after so many hours of endless effort, and the stormclouds receding in the western distance even more so. "No damage from the ice, thankfully." Elsa let out a sigh of relief. "Can you unfreeze us?"

The queen nodded and waved a hand. The broad slab of ice in which the bottom of the ship had been encased thawed from frosty white to clear ice, and then at last into seawater. The ship bobbed and sank a little deeper into the water.

"Thank goodness," Anna sighed, leaning against the bulwark and crossing her arms.

"We're not far now," Hans said, though he too looked exhausted. "We could reach the glacier by midday, but I don't recommend going in without some rest first…"

"I could use some more sleep myself," Olaf agreed, yawning and patting his mouth with his twig hand. "Life-and-death experiences can be very ti-i-iring."

Hans cast a weary eye at the queen. "Do snowmen even need to sleep?"

"Olaf enjoys the finer things in life."

"If we don't put the sails up we won't move, right?" Kristoff pointed out.

"We'll drift a little with the tide, but not much, no."

"Then let's take a break. You guys get some sleep."

"I can take first shift–"

"No way. I've seen too many guys make stupid mistakes out on the ice because they're exhausted; Anna and I will take first shift."

The sailor looked too tired to protest, and stumbled down the stairs where he, presumably, collapsed into a hammock and passed out. Anna turned to her sister with a stern look. "You too, Elsa."

"Anna, I'm f–"

"Mm-mm. I know you didn't sleep well last night, and using your powers that much always takes it out of you." Elsa relented with a tired smile. "Go on!"

_[Musical suggestion: Cantus's "Reindeer Circle"]_

Soon it was just the two of them left above-decks; the rose and scarlet sunrise was spreading slowly over the ocean waves, evoking in its colors a strange impression of both heat and cold. The boat bobbed and drifted in the waves, and Anna and Kristoff peered out over the frigid sea towards the fiery orb of light rising out of the sea.

"It's beautiful," Anna murmured. Kristoff nodded.

"I used to watch the sunrise every morning with my ma and pa over the fjord."

"I didn't know you lived close to the castle," Anna said, surprised.

"We moved around a lot. We would spend the winters down in the south, though." He smiled faintly. "Ma used to say that the sunrise kept her humble."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Her magic was for growing things, mostly. But she used to tell me that all living things on earth depend on the sun. She said watching the sunrise helped her remember that her magic was a gift—that it came from something outside herself, and that she'd been given her powers to help others, not hurt them."

Anna smiled and took his head with a little squeeze. He returned it, giving her his crinkle-eyed smile. The princess blushed a little and then looked back out to the sea, only to let out a soft gasp.

"Kristoff, look…"

He turned. Walking over the waves were misty forms of hundreds of reindeer; in the red tint from the sunrise the sea looked like wide fields of red lichen, which the ephemeral deer nibbled at before turning and running ahead, around and past the ship, towards where a distant star seemed to glimmer on the northern horizon.

* * *

Dusk was falling over the north sea and tiny white stars appearing in the blue of evening by the time the shining pinprick of light on the horizon had gained a concrete form. The five of them had gathered on the upper deck peered out over the darkening waves as the glacier loomed out from the distance, the snow seeming to glow faintly with the fading sun. At first they had seen it on the horizon and assumed they were near, but the island of dark stone and white ice was of such proportions that it meddled with perspective, so that it seemed to grow larger rather than closer as they sailed ever northwards.

At last, however, they seemed to be making some headway against the indomitable expanse of sea. Hans had been right; it was colder here than anywhere they'd ever been, and for the first time in her life Elsa had begun to feel unpleasantly chilled, so that she lined her icy cloak even more heavily with snow-fluff and had created a pair of snowy gloves, as well. Anna and Kristoff were faring worse; the younger sister had done up all the silver clasps on her lined cape and pulled on a pair of thick mittens, and Kristoff had donned his bobbled hat and thick wool muffler. The only affected member of the party was Olaf, and even he had requested the queen create a little snow scarf for what, she presumed, were purely aesthetic purposes.

Silence had descended over the group as the ship drew near the glacier. No one felt it right to raise their voice too loudly; like the silence of a darkened chapel, it seemed to press down on them in forbearance against speaking of trivial things. It wasn't until they were close enough to make out individual ice shelves in the glacier and the cold was growing almost unbearable that Anna let out a sharp gasp. "Elsa," she whispered in a hushed tone, pulling her hands away from the bullwark.

The queen looked and saw. Frost had begun to cover her sister's gloves, like fascinating rosmåling, fronds and ferns of ice crystals curling around familiar four-pointed snowflakes. She waved a hand to banish them, and felt, to her surprise and unsettlement, a cool and unbothered resistance. The crystals melted naturally as Anna pulled her back inside the confines of the ship. Her sister looked up at her.

"It didn't listen to you?" Elsa shook her head.

"Don't put your hands beyond the edges of the ship," Hans advised them from the wheel. "This is strong magic here."

"Much stronger than mine," Elsa agreed in an anxious murmur. She peered up at the glacier as it loomed over them and gripped the clasps of the ice-bag in which she'd stowed her father's journal compulsively. They had been called here, certainly—but this place was dangerous, she could sense it. _Dive down deep into her Sound—but not too far…_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

_...Or you'll be drowned._

As the sun finally vanished behind the western horizon, Hans navigated around the small chunks of sea ice and pulled the ship flush to the island's shore of snow. They put down anchor and then gathered together on the starboard side of the ship. "Is there an entrance?" the queen asked the sailor, who shook his head.

"I don't know. Like I said, I never left the ship."

"Look," Kristoff said, pointing towards a place about directly in front of them. The other three peered into the dim but growing ethereal light from the glacier and saw what she had seen: four great slabs of ice, carved with the symbols of the four Spirits, and below them, looking very small, a set of ice steps leading up to the shelf. Hans took out his spyglass and squinted into it.

"There's no door. The entrance is blocked off." He handed the telescope to Elsa, who looked through it; the entrance, a triangular-shaped door of sorts, was indeed blocked off with a sheet of ice, glittering coldy with the four-pointed snowflake.

"How do we get in?"

"Maybe the scroll Anna found can tell us?" Olaf suggested. Elsa retrieved it from her father's logbook and unfolded the map, turning it over.

 _"Memory-horde of history. Creation of the spirits, store of forgotten truths. Magic source—Elsa's source."_ She looked up. "That's all Father wrote. And the log doesn't say how they got inside."

"And you can't read the Northuldran words?" Anna asked Kristoff. He shook his head.

"I never learned how. Maybe I remember something though, let me take another look at it." Elsa handed the map over, and he scanned it briefly, before frowning. "Hold on…" They watched as he ran his finger along the first line of symbols. "This…isn't an alphabet."

"It isn't?" Anna peered over his shoulder. "But I thought you said this was Northuldran writing."

"I did, but this is old, really old. Look at all the detail in these symbols, they're not being used as letters—they're pictures." He frowned down at the paper for another moment, and then something seemed to click and his eyes widened. "I think it's a creation story. Yeah…you've got the making of the world, then the four spirits…living things, reindeer, people…"

"And then a river," Anna said, following his gaze. "A river that gave magic to humans." She looked up at her fiancé. "Ahtohallan."

"So how do we get inside?" Hans questioned, peering up at the glacier. Kristoff was still looking down intently at the symbols on the paper.

"I think we just…ask."

"Just ask?" The ex-prince sounded dubious.

"This isn't ours," Kristoff replied, finally looking up. "There's no trick or anything; I don't think we _can_ go in without permission."

Hans still didn't look convinced, but Elsa was nodding. "It worked with the Mist, after all. We may as well try."

In silence they packed up what they intended to take inside with them: Anna was given the torches; Kristoff took the ropes and climbing gear, along with, to everyone's surprise, his lute ("It just feels right, Anna; I don't know"); and Elsa packed the map and log-book, along with Honeymaren's scarf, which she had tied under her cape and over her shoulders for extra warmth. Hans took the foodstuffs and his compass. Olaf was the first to test leaving the boat; he gave a delighted little giggle as he saw the magical frost wash over his stick arms in tiny glittering crystals. "Okay, so that's not a good sign," Kristoff said, turning to the others.

"Father said Mother thought I was the key to keeping them safe in Ahtohallan," Elsa recalled. "So maybe…" She raised her hands tentatively and tensed her fingers. As they watched, wavering bands of blue-green light began to ripple out from her fingers.

There was a brief flash in the distance, and they turned; one of the symbols near the door had given off a brief burst of blue-green light. "Water," Kristoff noted.

"It's letting me use my magic," Elsa agreed, awed. "The cold shouldn't affect any of you now—or at least not too badly."

She was right; as they disembarked from the ship, frost skittered over their clothes and the cold nipped fiercely at their exposed cheeks and noses, but they didn't begin to freeze over. With a sense of trepidation, the four humans and snowman began the trek up the snow towards Ahtohallan.

As they approached the entrance, Kristoff, who was leading the party, turned back. "Everyone, remember, be careful where you step and and stick together," he warned them. "Glaciers are dangerous; if you fall into a crevasse you won't be able to get out without help, even if you aren't injured, so nobody should go wandering off on their own—got that, Olaf?"

"Aye-aye, captain!" the snowman agreed, saluting enthusiastically, before frowning. "Wait—isn't Not-Prince Hans the captain? So what would that make you? Hmm…"

They reached the staircase and ascended it as Olaf continued trying out different epithets for Kristoff's position. At the top of the stairs they reached the door. "Just ask, right?" Anna said nervously, peering up at the door.

Elsa stepped forward and pressed her gloved hand to the center of the four-pointed snowflake; frost spread out along the points from where her hand had touched, the symbol for water particularly affected, before the door pulsed with a sudden purple light and her hand was forced back, a cold snap stinging her fingers. "Okay, so not me then," she said with a scowl, shaking her hand as she stepped back. "Ooh, that stings…"

"See? _See?_ That's what it feels like for the rest of us!" Anna exclaimed, with a little too much glee.

"Alright, alright, I'll never stuff a snowball down the back of your dress again…"

A sudden gust of wind fluttered around them, circling twice around Kristoff before puffing against the door. The symbol for the spirit of the Earth, with its pattern of nesting solid diamonds, pulsed a faint green-blue. "I think it wants you," Anna noted.

Kristoff stepped forward from the group uncertainly. He reached out a gloved hand, hesitated, and then pressed it to the center of the four diamonds.

There was a faint pulse of golden light, and then a stronger one, radiating through the ice like the first light of dawn. With it, a Voice called out through the ice in clear crystal-tones:

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

The ice vanished into a breath of snow, which Gail swept up and fluttered away into the darkening night sky, leaving the party alone at the front of the glacier. Kristoff took a deep breath and looked over as Anna approached his side, taking his hand in hers and smiling up at him. They ventured in together under the archway, hand-in-hand. Olaf followed cheerfully after, and then Hans, looking up curiously at the strange edifice. Last of all came Elsa, peering around nervously, but with a sense of strange wonder.

_[Musical Suggestion: Frode Fjellheim and Cantus's "Aejlies"]_

Beyond the entrance the five found themselves within a glacial tunnel. A faint blue light seemed to be glowing from somewhere beyond the icy walls, providing a dim source of light, though further down the tunnel they saw only darkness. Anna lit a torch as they walked and held it up to the ceiling of the tunnel. "Elsa…are you seeing this?" she said in a hushed voice, as strange diamond-shaped lights glittered somewhere on the other side of the light.

"I-" But the queen never had a chance to reply, letting out a soft gasp as a breath of the flame from the torch separated itself and flared away down the tunnel, illuminating with it a scene on the walls—or was it on the other side of them?—in scarlets and golds: a tundra of lichen landscape, filled with racing reindeer egged on and rounded up by a herding hound. Then they saw people, too—herders of ages past, hands cupped around their mouths as herding calls echoed over the tundra and through the walls around them.

The party followed the racing reindeer in a state of awe; the tunnel turned downward in a set of steps, and they descended deeper into Ahtohallan as the scenes of days faded into scenes of nights: people around campfires, telling stories, pointing out stars in the sky. Then there came scenes of magic: of a man in ancient Northuldran clothing with a flame held in his hand, traversing the same path they did, curiously peering up at the walls of the tunnel; herders causing lichen to grow for their reindeer; children running and playing on top of the water.

There were unpleasant scenes, too: two villages arguing, their leaders gesturing angrily to an apparently disputed stretch of forest land; people fighting with spears and bows. But then there were scenes of concord, agreement, and harmony: village leaders shaking hands, appointing common leaders, gathering in council. Winter and spring festivals, dancing and singing, the sharing of food and technology and information.

"Look," Anna whispered, as new scenes began to unfold. "Those are…"

"Arendellians," Elsa finished, awed. Tall, fair- and red-haired people in ancient nordic clothing were meeting with Northuldran leaders by the sea, trading furs and foodstuffs.

The steps suddenly let out into a larger space; the flame which had escaped from the torch raced ahead of them, and a great cavern of ice revealed itself as the ceiling, far above, lightened to the tones of daylight, spreading from the path of the flame across the room. The sound of hooves behind them caused them to turn, and to their right the herded reindeer reappeared, bursting out through the walls in snowy forms and crossing the cavern to disappear back into the icy walls opposite them. As they stepped onto the icy floor, shapes appeared around them with the glitter and crackle of ice. "Wow…" Anna said, voice hushed, pausing in front of what could only be described a living image of her younger self, formed out of snowflakes, rushing towards a younger Elsa and snowman with a cry of, _"I love you, Olaf!"_

"Are these…?" Elsa said, awed, peering at a young Anna trying to ride a bicycle, and then beaming at a snowy past self pulling Anna out onto the ice to skate.

"Memories," Hans said, half-stepping out of the way with a fond smile as a little boy with a toy boat rushed past his knees.

"Happy ones," Kristoff agreed, eyes crinkling as a snowy Northuldran woman held the toddler child in her arms to nervously pat the nose of a reindeer.

"Oh, Anna! I love you too!" Olaf giggled, launching himself at the snowy child-Anna, who poofed away in a small puff of snowflakes. The real Anna knelt down and caught him before he could fall.

"What are your happiest memories, Olaf?"

"The ones with you guys, of course!" He spotted another Olaf in the distance drinking what appeared to be a pink-tinted juice of some sort. "Oh, and that lemonade. That was delicious. Come to think of it, most of my memories are happy ones…"

"Is that–? No way," Kristoff laughed suddenly, moving on ahead to another memory, which appeared to show him sitting on a pile of hay with his lute. "Oh come on; how is that one of my happiest memories! I'd just gotten tossed out in the snow!"

"I think it's mine," Anna giggled. "I told you it was a nice duet…"

Elsa wandered forward, peering around in awe at the snowy statues. Most of them were from her younger years, or the more recent good times with Anna, but one or two from her largely unhappy youth were present as well. She stopped beside an image of her father looking over an essay she'd written and nodding approvingly. _"This is excellent work, Elsa!"_

_"Thank you, Father."_

_"My father always said I had no head for politics,"_ the king chuckled, handing the essay back to his proudly beaming daughter, _"but if you've learned all this from my lessons, I must be doing something right."_

 _"There."_ She turned to see her mother finishing applying her makeup. _"You're as pretty as a princess."_

 _"Mother, I am a princess,"_ the teenager chuckled, opening her eyes. She bit her lip and looked anxiously down at her gloved hands, but her mother fearlessly reached out and took them, smiling at her.

_"You've been doing so well lately. It's going to be fine, Elsa; just a quick appearance on the balcony."_

_"What if the people don't like me?"_

_"They're going to love you."_

Across the room, the sailor was making his way between one fond memory or another—graduation from the naval academy, receiving his commendation for rescuing the hostages—when a sudden whinny caught his ear, and he turned, eyes lighting up. Not far away he spotted the source, and, unable to help himself, ran over to it, hope filling his face.

 _"Whoa there, boy, whoa!"_ His younger self scrambled back, laughing and holding up a calming hand to the foal. The young horse whinnied again, and the boy patted his neck fondly. _"Good job, Sitron. Do you want a sugar lump?"_ The horse nickered, and he laughed and pulled one out of his pocket. _"You know, all my brothers said it would be hard to train you,"_ he commented, petting the foal's nose as Sitron munched on the sugar, _"But I think you're worth it. What do you think, boy?"_

The foal whinnied and snuffled his hair, and the boy laughed. _"I'll be back tomorrow, I promise!"_ The now-grown man smiled to himself and leaned up against the snowy paddock fence as his younger self hopped over it and vanished into snowflakes. The memory of the foal continued to canter around the paddock, tossing its head proudly and prancing its hooves.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Hans turned and nodded. Anna had approached and was watching the horse. "If that was you," she asked hesitantly, "how did you become so…?"

Hans eyed her, and then turned back to the memory of the foal. As if it recognized his presence, it came up and stopped in front of him, and he patted its nose with his gloved hand. "Sitron is a good horse," he said, instead of answering. "A fine companion—and loyal to his master, right to the bitter end." He smiled sadly, mostly to himself, as he patted the horse's nose and neck. "He also has an _excellent_ pedigree. His lineage is valuable all on its own; the Crown could stand to make a good deal of money off selling him to the right bidder. After all…" he stepped back, and the memory cantered away. "That's what you had him for in the first place."

The princess looked down at her left hand, where, she knew, under the glove lay the engagement ring; it was not of very fine gold, and when Kristoff had proposed with it they hadn't known he would bring any kind of political advantage with him, but she loved that ring just the same. Hans began to walk away, and she joined him. "Congratulations on your engagement, by the way," the ex-prince added. "Mr. Bjorgman seems like a good man. I wish you a happy life together."

"Thank you…"

On a different side of the room, Kristoff found himself among earlier memories; he chuckled to himself as he saw, on his left, Bulda pat his and Sven's cheeks in an impromptu adoption. On his right, his birth-mother was kneeling down in front of his younger self, showing him how the flowers grew. _"The earth is the source of our stability, it is our common home,"_ she instructed the eagerly listening boy. The flower beneath her hands—a crocus flower, the snow blushed a faint purple with the power of memory—sprouted and grew, unfurling its petals to the sunlight. _"If you take care of it, it will take care of you."_ Krsitoff couldn't help but smile; his mother had been more right than she'd realized.

Ahead of him something caught his eye, and he moved forward between other memories before coming to a halt in front of it. It was one of his earliest memories: his parents, sitting around their (now-frozen) fire, his mother playing her lute, his father singing one of the chants, half-words, half-soothing syllables, that sought to put a concept beyond words into human voice.

Rana turned to her son, ceasing her strumming and placing the lute in his lap. The boy beamed up at her as she placed his left hand on the strings and showed him how to strum with his right. Kristoff let out a soft laugh of awe and scrubbed at his eyes; to see her like this, still alive…his eyes found the lute, and the designs along the edges of it—the unbroken family, the living and the departed together, Yelena had said. A community that could not be destroyed even by death.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

Three heads turned as the call echoed through the room. Kristoff gave one last wistful look at the scene and then went in search of the others.

Anna and Hans turned as he appeared out of the forest of figures. "Did you hear that?" he asked Hans, who nodded.

"I think that's our cue to hurry up."

They reached the other side of the room, where Elsa and Olaf had stopped next to a pair of men walking in Arendellian uniform. "That's grandfather, isn't it?" Anna said nervously, eyeing the figure with the sword and mustache as she approached Elsa's side.

The queen nodded. "That man with him, I recognize him from the portrait hall. He was the captain of our grandfather's guard; he and his men all died in the confrontation with the Northuldra."

"Where are they going?"

"I don't know."

They watched the pair vanish "through" the far wall, behind which lay a dark spot—a tunnel. Elsa's eyes narrowed, and she banished it aside with her hand, moving forward. The party followed.

The tunnel trekked downwards, out from the well-lit room into a lower level of the glacier. Ahead of them, the figures were still talking. _"The dam has weakened their lands,"_ the king's voice echoed back through the tunnel. Anna and Elsa shared nervous glances. _"The old stories all say that their magic depends on the harmony of four primitive spirits; by stopping up the river, we have also stopped up the magic of their sorcerers."_

_"But your Majesty, why the dam? Wouldn't burning the forest have been more effective?"_

_"Arendelle sits on a fjord; the very water which gave our kingdom birth and life would have been our destruction, had the Northuldra been able to wield it against us. And besides, the trees will be valuable timber when we turn the Forest into farmlands for the new settlements."_

"New settlements," Anna whispered. They had reached the bottom of the steps and found themselves in a darker cavern. Ahead of them, the king and the captain were still walking along, heading for some unseen destination. The king was giving instructions to the captain:

" _Kill any sorcerer you can, especially those with water magic; we must eliminate all those who were born before the dam was built."_

_"What if they're civilians, sir?"_

_"There are no Northuldra civilians."_ King Ruenard turned to face the man. _"They're not like us, Captain. Any one of them could turn barbarous at any moment."_ He looked forward again, setting his jaw with narrowed eyes. _"We must stamp them out now, before they rise against us. Magic makes people feel too powerful, too entitled. It makes them think they can defy the will of a king."_

Anna looked to her sister anxiously; Elsa's shoulders had hunched at the words, and she looked stunned at such hateful statements coming from their grandfather's mouth, someone whose memory they'd been brought up to revere. The princess reached out her hand to comfort her sister, but the continued conversation between the memories drew her attention again:

_"What about Prince Agnar? The boy is too soft-hearted; can we be sure he will follow your plan?"_

_"Letting him bring the princess along was a mistake. But we can adjust for that. We must make sure he sees the end of the battle but not the start of it; if he believes our cause is just–"_ the king gave a calculating nod, _"–then I am certain he will support it."_

The figures vanished with a flurry of snowflakes, and the wall opposite them suddenly shot up with a strange blue light, revealing that it was not a wall, but rather a massive dam, stretching up into the darkness above them. _"The will come in celebration,"_ the group heard the king's voice echo, disembodied, as they turned every which way; shadowy Northuldran figures were descending as if by steps towards them. _"And then, we will know their size… and strength."_

 _"Ryder, you have to hide!"_ Elsa turned to see a Northuldran man whispering frantically to a small child of about three years old as he placed him in the branches of an icy tree, caught in the looming shadow of the dam.

_"Papa, I'm scared! What's going on?"_

_"Stay here. You'll be safe here. Promise me, Ryder!"_

_"You!"_ The Northuldran man turned to see a figure stalking through the frozen trees and stepped forward, shielding the boy from view. The captain emerged into the clearing, crossbow in hand. _"You should have known you couldn't run from us."_

_"You won't get away with this."_

The captain chuckled and leveled his crossbow. _"We already have."_

Elsa flung up a hand.

Everything stopped. The bolt, launched from the crossbow, hovered in midair, as the queen peered at it, horror-stricken. Kristoff silently approached the ice-figure of the boy, his wide-eyed face peeking out from between the poplar's leaves. Anna had pressed a hand to her mouth, tears gathering in her eyes, while Olaf held her other gloved hand and peered up at her in worry.

"They took out the witnesses." Hans was staring eye-level into the Captain's face with a wary, disturbed expression. "They weren't sloppy about it, either; every part of this was planned in advance."

"Then Lieutenant Matthias–" Anna began, but Hans shook his head, turning.

"Lieutenant Matthias was your father's personal guard. I don't think he knew about this. He and his men just got caught up in the fray."

 _"Finding the prince and princess is our first priority!"_ The walls around them flickered as Ahtohallan seemed to confirm their suspicions, Matthias's disembodied voice echoing eerily over the clash of an unseen battle. _"Spread out and search this part of the forest; don't engage in combat unless you have to!"_

The clamor faded again, and they were left, again, with the unnatural silence. Then Elsa suddenly felt a pang seize her heart. "Oh no," she breathed.

The rest of the group turned. "What?" Anna pressed. Elsa had gone even paler than usual. "What is it?"

 _Please don't let it be true. Please._ But even as she thought it, a faint indigo light had begun to glow on the other side of the cavern, in the bottom of the dam's wall, revealing another set of steps down. Anna followed her gaze and started towards it. "Anna, wait." The princess turned back; her sister was pulling back, arms crossed and shaking her head. "This is dangerous. Maybe we should go back to the ship, come back tomorrow–"

"Elsa, we're so close! We can't stop now." She stepped back and took her sister's hand. "Come on. It'll be okay."

Only half-believing her, Elsa let herself be pulled towards the staircase, which was now glowing a brighter, almost pulsing violet. Kristoff and Hans followed.

The air as they descended radiated with cold as a furnace might have radiated with heat; even Elsa began to shiver. At the bottom they found themselves in a small cavern, with violet edging the line between the floor and the cavern walls but a floor of pitch-black ice. In the center, on a plinth of ice, was a pair of ice figures, and as they came into clear view Anna stopped dead and drew a sharp breath, gripping her sister's hand.

It was everything Elsa had feared. King Ruenard had drawn his blade, prepared to strike, over the neck of the unsuspecting village elder. "That's…" Anna whispered.

"Our grandfather," Elsa finished woodenly, and then turned to look at Kristoff. "And…yours."

"The Northuldra didn't start the battle," Anna said faintly. "Arendelle did. We built the dam to attack the Spirits. We tried to take the forest." Her face twisted with disgust as she drew a sharp half-sob: "The battle was just an _excuse."_

There was a long silence.

"…We have to tell people," Anna breathed at last. "We have to tell Yelena—and Arendelle, we have to find a way to get back. Hans, you can sail–"

"Not across the Dark Sea, I can't. I almost got killed last time."

"Then we'll find another way!" she said impatiently. "We'll– I don't know, tunnel underground! Or–"

"Anna," Elsa mumbled.

"Or we'll find a way to lift the Mist—the Mist! It was to _protect_ the Northuldra from Arendelle, not to punish them!" She let go of her sister's hand and turned to Kristoff. "If Arendelle weren't a threat anymore the Mist would lift, I'm sure of it!"

"Anna!"

"What?" The princess turned back. Elsa was wringing her hands, distressed. "Elsa?"

"It's not that simple. We can't just– just _tell_ people what we've seen here, they would never listen! Even if we didn't it wouldn't change anything. Arendellians have benefited from driving the Northuldra away; we got their farms, and all the tundra near the Mist—people aren't going to want to give that back."

"But if we just told people the truth–!"

"People don't care about the _truth,_ Anna!" The younger sister shrank back at the anger and fear in the elder's voice. "They care about– about what's personally convenient to them!"

"No. I know you're scared, Elsa, but people are better than that–"

"You didn't see their faces. When I ran away from my coronation, Anna, they looked at me like I was– like I was a _monster._ Their own queen!" She pushed her bangs out of her face and began to pace. "They tried to _kill_ me, don't you see? That's how people _are._ They fear and envy those who have something they don't, and they try to destroy each other. If they would do that to their own queen..."

"But people can change," Anna insisted. "The kingdom loves you now–"

"Because she makes their lives easier." Anna looked back over at Hans, who was looking at the statue with calculating eyes. "No other kingdom wants to get on Arendelle's bad side, now that they see what she can do. I imagine any trade deals have been pretty favorable towards Arendelle?" He glanced at Elsa, who nodded guiltily. "And because she's young and beautiful, and her magic makes pretty snow castles and ice rinks for children. If she were old and ugly—if she looked the part of a wicked witch—she'd still be hiding in some cave on the North Mountain."

"That's not true," Anna said, but her voice sounded hollow even to her.

"This can't be all there is," Elsa said, shaking her head. "There has to be something else—something we've missed. We have to keep looking."

"Why?" They turned. Kristoff's face had gone stony. "So that Arendelle doesn't have to be the villain here?"

"This is what my father warned about; if we don't find something else–"

"Then what? The Northuldra might finally get to live in peace? No, you're right, that's a step too far."

"We would have to break down the dam." Silence fell over the room. The queen wrung her hands, shaking her head as she began to pace again. "If this is true…then we would have to break down the dam, restore the stolen magic to the Northuldra and bring balance back to the Spirits. The flood from the released water…"

"Would destroy dozens of homes, shops, the castle—at least half the town, maybe more," Kristoff finished, realizing the magnitude of the destruction. "Everything on the fjord would be washed away."

"The kingdom would be devestated. Anna and I would be thrown out, there would be fighting in the streets—this could tear Arendelle _apart._ I'm their queen, Kristoff; I _can't_ let that happen, don't you see?" He didn't answer, not meeting her eyes. "I have to protect my people," Elsa said, almost pleading with him. "I made a promise when I took the throne; I can't just abandon them. Not...not again."

He looked up at her, surprised. "And I want you to be part of our family," the queen insisted. "Kristoff, you know what would happen if people found out the truth—about _why_ we let the town be destroyed. You said you'd do anything to be with Anna. Did you mean that?"

Kristoff looked up to the statue. There was a long silence, as Elsa stared him down and Anna peered at his face in the dim light, her breath frozen in her chest.

"Yes."

Anna let out the breath and looked up at the statue. Elsa nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Then we keep looking."

She waved a hand. On the opposite side of the cavern, a new door appeared, revealing another downwards-sloping tunnel; a faint magenta light glowed somewhere from deep within. She started towards it, Kristoff and Hans following her. "Anna, Olaf, come on," she called without looking, but when she didn't hear her sister's footsteps following, she turned.

Anna was still peering up at the statue of her grandfather and the Northuldran elder. "This plinth…it's like the one in the town, Elsa."

"What?"

"The one with grandfather's statue. The one holding the town flag, the pillar looks exactly the same." She hesitated, and then turned to her sister, setting her chin. "We need to go back to Arendelle."

"Anna–"

"Elsa, don't you see? This is what Ahtohallan meant to show us, I'm sure of it!"

"You don't know that," the queen insisted, taking a step back. "We'll just look a little further–"

"Don't you remember the lullaby? _Dive too far, and you'll be drowned!_ This is as deep as we're meant to go, Elsa. We need to go back, right now; this is dangerous!"

"It's _dangerous_ for you to stay here alone! What if my magic can't protect you if we're separated?"

"But Mama and Papa–"

"Mother and Father didn't have my magic to protect them." Anna wavered, looking towards the steps. "And you heard what Kristoff said before, it's dangerous to split up."

The princess glanced between her and the statue, and then to Kristoff. He was watching her, looking torn. Anna hesitated a moment longer, and then shook her head, stepping back.

"No. I'm staying here." Elsa opened her mouth, but Anna cut her off. "Kristoff?"

Her fiancé opened his mouth and then looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anna–"

"This is what the Voice wanted you to find," Anna insisted, gesturing to the figures behind her. Kristoff looked up into the face of the grandfather he'd never gotten the chance to meet. _"This_ is why it called you here, Kristoff, to right this wrong with us."

"The Voice told me to go through the Mist for sixteen years, and I couldn't get through." Anna fell silent. "We'll just…take another look around, Anna, that's it. Besides, I know my way around a glacier, Elsa has her powers—we should stick together."

Kristoff saw Anna look at her sister. Her expression set and she turned back to him again. "I made you a promise," she said quietly, and he looked away. "Hans." The man who had once tried to kill her glanced back. "You know I'm right," Anna insisted.

Hans looked between her and her sister, and then gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Princesses can't give pardons, Anna."

Anna nodded, mouth tight. "Fine." She took another step back. "I'll just… wait here until you all come back, then."

She felt something grasp her glove, and looked down to see Olaf holding her hand in his twig fingers. "I'll stay here with you, Anna," he offered cheerfully.

"We'll be back soon," Elsa promised. Anna nodded, biting her lip.

"Be _careful."_

"We will," Kristoff reassured her, and then the three of them vanished, one by one, into the tunnel. Anna listened to their footsteps echoing, and then sat down against the statue's frozen plinth to wait.

"It'll be okay," Olaf reassured her, plopping down beside her. "I'm sure they'll be back in no time."

Anna didn't answer. The sound of footsteps faded away, and she and Olaf were left alone in the silence of Ahtohallan, while the strange trio ventured further down and in, and at their backs the Voice was yet insistently calling:

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

The tunnel was consumed further with shadows every step they took, the eerie voice echoing from behind their backs past them, bounding off the walls deeper into the glacier's heart. The three shared uncomfortable looks, before Elsa was forced ahead of the others by the narrowing of the stairs. She held up her hand to the low sloping ceiling and an eerie blue glow appeared around her fingertips, dancing with snowflakes and shedding a faint light over the passage.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah…_

_Hey-o ley-lo!_

Kristoff turned abruptly and looked over his shoulder; the other two stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"The Voice?" Hans tried to say dryly, but his own voice hitched nervously as he looked around.

"No, it–" He strained his ears, but there was nothing but the Voice. _Ah-ah, ah-ah…_ "Never mind."

"You sure?" Elsa asked warily.

"It's nothing."

The steps leveled out into a long hallway, lined on either sides by shadowed glass walls of jagged ice that widened as they went further in. Hans turned and watched his own hazy reflection ripple and bend in a protruding ice-shelf, and then he stopped. "Hold on…" He stepped sideways, peering his head around. "There are tunnels here, look."

The others turned back and saw the dozens of dark, gaping arches in the ice which had been invisible to them from the front. Hans squinted his eyes, peering down one. Something far down the tunnel was glowing in a strange golden flicker. "There's a light at the end of this one–"

He hadn't even realized he'd taken a step towards it until a glove caught his arm, and he turned back. Kristoff let go of him, flushing. "Sorry. But like I said, it's dangerous to go off on your own; you don't want to get stuck where you can't turn back."

The ex-prince nodded, and continued to follow them down the tunnel—although he did throw a last look over his shoulder towards the darkened archway.

The end of the hallway was so dim and lost to the shadows that at first, they didn't know what kind of room they'd come into. Elsa held up the small sphere of light and shot a few sparks of it upwards like a ship's flare; they struck the ceiling far above them in a shower of cold sparkles. "It's a cavern of some sort," she said, walking forward, but at that same moment a distant tune seemed to echo down the steps at their backs and around them:

_"Dive down deep into her sound…"_

The queen's foot reached out, and struck nothing but solid air.

_"–but not too far–"_

Kristoff lunged forward and caught the back of her cloak, pulling her back to safety. The heels of her boots skittered on the ice as the disembodied voice of Queen Iduna swirled around them and down into the open pit:

_"–or you'll be drowned…"_

Elsa panted for breath as the singing faded, and the trio peered down into the pitch-blackness of the pit. "Thank you. That–" She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "That was close." She waved her free hand, and another swirl of cold sparkles skittered around the walls of the hole, spiraling down, until she saw it come to rest, glowing, on the floor far below. "That's the bottom, down there. I can make us a set of stairs–"

But Hans was stepping back, shaking his head. "I've changed my mind. Anna had the right idea of things; I'm going back."

"Wandering off on your own is dangerous," Kristoff warned.

"Look, I told you back on the boat, this is a place of myths and legend. I've read enough fairytales to know how magic caves full of secrets work, and frankly I think I'd rather avoid my villainous just deserts, if it's all the same to you."

Elsa and Kristoff shared a glance, and then Kristoff nodded. "Be careful."

He waved them off, and then started the long trek back up the steps. When he'd vanished, Elsa gestured towards the pit. "So…"

"I guess."

She waved her hand, and a spiral staircase of ice appeared. Slowly, with nervous glances in every direction, they descended into the dark.

* * *

The way back down the hallway to the steps seemed longer than the way there, and the ex-prince shivered as he moved back up the hall, his breath fogging in the air. He hadn't realized how cold it was deeper in the glacier…

He had almost reached the stairs when a drifting voice caught his ear and his feet stopped, almost instinctively.

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah…"_

His head turned, peering down the tunnel to his right. The golden light flickered again at the distant end…and he heard…

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!"_

The Voice was definitely coming from that direction; surely it wouldn't pull him deeper than he was supposed to go. Hans hesitated a moment, looking over his shoulder towards the staircase. Then he turned back and, on instinct, took the compass out of his pocket.

The white arrow wheeled around, spinning, and then pointed north—down the path.

He snapped the compass shut and headed into the crevasse, towards the distant sound of the haunting song. Behind him, frost began to sprout where he'd been standing.

" _Ah-ah-ah…"_

* * *

The bottom of the pit had revealed at least a dozen different fissures in the ice. There was no possible way to investigate them all, so Elsa turned to other methods. Kristoff watched as she knelt down and pressed her hand to the ice. "Show me," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Um, Elsa?"

"Shh! I need to focus!" Kristoff shut his mouth. _Show me. Show me the way to what I'm looking for._

"Whoa…" She opened her eyes at Kristoff's voice. From below her hand, a magic light was rippling out in blue-green waves, and then flowing like a small river towards one of the fissures. She stood.

"This way."

Kristoff took the lead, ice pick out and climbing tools at the ready. The blue-green light continued to glow like a trickle of water under their feet, illuminating the fissure walls. Those same walls seemed to stretch an infinite distance above them, more so as the path began to slope down; as Elsa peered upwards, she could see the tips of distant stalactites in the gloom, glittering like cold stars.

"Careful," Kristoff called back, "the ice here is thin."

The fissure was widening. A set of icy steps stretched ahead of them, below which there seemed to be only darkness. The path widened until they found themselves in front of what appeared to be a frozen, underground lake. Kristoff suddenly stopped ahead of her and called out, "Wait. Wait, Elsa, stop. I know where we are."

"What?" she turned and looked behind her, before drawing a sharp breath. The fissure through which they had exited had taken the place of what she recognized as the door down to the fjords in Arendelle castle; on either side of it the castle walls stretched out, with the fissure seeming to rend it straight down the middle. "This is the fjord…"

She was distracted from the rest of her sentence as a sharp cracking noise went off in the distance. Kristoff took a wary step back towards the fissure. "This is a bad idea. The ice here is too thin; we should turn back."

"What? No, Kristoff, my magic is showing us the way–"

"I don't think it is; look, it's running across the fjord and into the Forest." She turned, watching the thin trickle of magic creeping over the fronds and trees on the distant bank. "If we keep following it we'll just end up on the North Mountain."

"My magic knows what it's doing," Elsa said, annoyed. "I told it to find us what we're looking for–"

"What we're looking for?" he demanded. "Or what you're looking for?"

"Aren't those the same thing?"

"I'm not so sure." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them, before another distant popping sound drew Kristoff's attention. "The ice is splitting. It's not safe for us to cross, we need to find another way."

"Kristoff, this is the way I'm supposed to go; I can _feel_ it," she insisted, taking a step towards him. "Trust me, I think I know something about ice–"

"Yeah, and I know a lot about how to not die on top of it. Listen–"

They were cut off by the sound of eerie footsteps behind them, and both turned. Elsa stepped back with a gasp as a snowy figure came rushing out of the same fissure they'd just left—a figure with a heavy fluttering cape, a crown, and a single glove.

_"Elsa!"_

The snowy figure turned at Anna's disembodied call, stepping back onto the frozen ice. New frost spread in patches, and, realizing her advantage, the memory turned and ran—straight over the path of the magic had marked out for the living queen. As she passed them by, the memory vanished into a cloud of snowflakes. Elsa peered at the place where her old self had vanished, stunned. _I looked so frightened…I never realized…_

"Anna told me you ran away from your coronation." She started at Kristoff's voice and turned; he too was staring at the place where the memory had vanished. "I didn't realize she meant it so literally."

"Kristoff–?"

"You're running away?" he demanded, looking up at her. "That's what you asked your magic to do? Help you run away from this?"

"What? No, of course not–"

"Is that your answer to everything? Shut your doors, hide from the world?" He stopped suddenly. "The box. The box, you wanted me to put _everything_ in that box–"

"Because I was trying to help you!"

"Help me by what, covering up everything about me that didn't quite fit a royal family portrait? Gee, I wonder where you got that idea!"

"How dare you," she breathed, clenching her fists compulsively as frost spread over her fingers. "This is _not_ the same–"

"You said it yourself, you have a lot of experience keeping secrets," he retorted. "You keep saying you want me in your family, Elsa, but I'm starting to think you don't want Anna anywhere _near_ mine!"

 _"You_ were the one who kept this a secret! I am not the one to blame for you hiding who you are, Kristoff; you chose that for yourself, and you were choosing it long before Anna and I came into the picture!"

That stung. "Fine! _Fine!_ But name one thing, Elsa, _one_ thing you ever did as Queen to help the Northuldra!"

"I helped one _marry_ a princess!"

Both parties drew back. A stunned silence developed between them.

"...Right," Kristoff said at last. "Well. Thank you for your sacrifice."

"Stop it–"

"No, really, it was brave of you. And letting one of us into your home, well, what was it the king said? We could turn barbarous at any moment?"

"That's not fair," Elsa said tightly, her lower lip trembling. "I _never_ said–"

"I think we should split up," Kristoff cut her off. "Cover more ground."

The queen's face was tight. "Maybe we should."

There was a pause, and then Kristoff turned on his heels and stalked back into the fissure. The queen turned back towards the fjord, hesitated with a last glance over her shoulder, and then set her jaw and started across it, stepping in the frosted footsteps her memory had left behind her.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

She flinched, but gritted her teeth and, ignoring the Voice at her back, plunged deeper into the cold.

* * *

The tunnel had begun to slope downwards; the air was colder down here, and fogged in clouds over the ex-prince's mouth. The twinkle of golden light was growing nearer ahead of him, the Voice urging him gently forwards:

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah…"_

He rounded another corner and stopped. "What the…"

He recognized the place immediately; in fact, he recognized the time, too. The image of golden sunlight illuminating the pillars of Her Majesty's ice palace was burned vividly into his memory—and into Ahtohallan as well, it seemed. Ah, yes, and there she was. The queen, or rather the snowy figure of her, was peering through a crack in the palace's doors, glittery dress and all.

 _"We are here to find Princess Anna!"_ He saw the queen's shoulders hunch as his own voice echoed distantly from beyond the ice walls. _"Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the queen! Do you understand!"_

There came a series of roars from the outside—yes, that would have been her snow-monster attacking the rescue party—and the queen closed the door, wringing her hands. The golden light was growing brighter; Hans looked around the castle in confusion. "Why are you showing me this?" he demanded of the glacier, but any opportunity he might have had to ponder the answer vanished as the queen's memory suddenly gasped and turned on her heels and ran up the stairs. The memories of the guards burst through the ice doors two seconds later, waving their crossbows around like half-wits—goodness, he'd forgotten how irritating they'd been, he'd never worked with such unprofessional louts—before pointing at the queen running up the stairs.

_"Up there!"_

_"Come on!"_

Another roar came from outside; the real Hans glanced at the doors, wavering, and then ran up the stairs after the guards and the queen. He'd always been curious about what had been happening up there prior to his arrival, and this was probably the only chance he'd ever have to find out. His feet clattered on the icy steps, and the Voice chimed shrill and clear through the ice:

_"Ah, ah-ah-ah!"_

_"Stay away!"_

_"Ah-ah!"_

He burst through the top of the steps, and then stopped.

This was, most certainly, not the ice castle, though he knew once again precisely where and when he was. The snow swirled in erratic billows over the fjord, an almost blinding whiteout. Hans eyed the scenario warily, and took a step back towards the steps leading down below the ice.

_"Ah-ah-ah, ah–ayh!"_

A buffet of wind swirled at his back and nudged him forward. "Yeah, yeah, I get the point," Hans hissed out of the corner of his mouth, and then exhaled a sharp breath. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

He strode forward, tension in every line of his body and one hand on the hilt of this sword; he paid a nervous glance downward when he heard the noise of cracking ice in the distance, but the ice under his feet was solid, and so he held his course. Within a few moments, a predictable figure began to emerge out of the snowy background: a frozen blue silhouette in the whiteout, holding up one protective hand. So, he was here to repent for what he'd done to Anna, was he? Very well, he could have guessed that; he'd suffer his penance and then move on.

The blizzard wind tugged at his hair and gray overcoat as he moved forward, at times obscuring his target for a moment, before the blue figure would emerge again. When he reached it, he stopped dead. "What…"

It wasn't Anna.

The statue of the boy stood with one hand outflung in protective desperation, the other hugging a toy boat to its chest. His glassy eyes were wide with terror, frozen tears rolling down his cheeks.

"...What is this." The ex-prince turned right and left, looking for an answer; his chest rose and fell with too-fast breaths. "What's the point of this; why did you bring me here!"

But the Voice was gone. He turned back to the statue of the boy; it drew his eyes like a gruesome accident. Every line in the face was perfect; it was like looking into a mirror, back in time. He took an unconscious step forward, as much drawn as repelled. The statue was so realistic it may as well have been alive…

And that was when the teardrop fell off the boy's chin, and he stumbled back.

Fresh tears welled up in the statue's eyes to replace it, escaping the icy eyelids and rolling down its face. A breath of mist escaped its mouth, open in a silent plea. The ex-prince's heart was pounding in his ears now; the tightness in his chest was growing, making him dizzy. The popping sounds of splitting ice ricocheted around them like gunshots.

Hans drew his sword, hyperventilating. It rattled in his hand. Something in the air cried out in warning:

_Ah-ah ah-ah!_

The sword came crashing down between the boy's fingers.

The rebounding shock wave threw him back, shattering the blade in his hand, and when his back hit the ice it shattered, too. There was no water under the frozen shell of the fjord; for a moment the whole lake seemed to hover in shards, suspended, over the abyss, and then ice, statue and man all plunged into the dark.

* * *

The dozen fissures in the room had offered no further indication of which way to proceed, so Kristoff had chosen one at a random, making sure to mark his path with a hack of his ice-pick as he went along. The fissure had unexpectedly widened as he'd proceed, which he'd counted as a comforting sign, even if the path was sloping steadily downwards.

He'd been walking for about five minutes in the silence before he realized he recognized the area. These were the cliffs near the Mist on the Arendellian side of the border; beneath the snow under his feet there was an old road. He'd just rounded the last corner when the cavern opened up around him, and he stopped.

Across the wide expanse of snow-drifted tundra in front of the Mist, a small group of figures was moving. The snowy memories seemed to reflect a faint white glow, like moonlight, as they moved silently in the distance. The family of three approached the towering wall of mist as the sled slowed, and the woman stepped off. Where she walked, white snow-flowers sprouted in her footsteps. The memory held out a pale hand, and the Mist pulsed with a faint light.

The figure of the woman turned back to the figure of the man, nodding. The snow reindeer began to move, pulling the sled behind them. From his distance, the man watched as the boy leapt off the back of the cart and fell, the lute of ice falling beside him, and he took the real lute off his own back, looking at the carvings on the back and then up at the boy. The memory threw out a hand, and the sled vanished into the Mist.

Time slowed to a halt as Kristoff finally moved down the cliff-side and across the stretch of tundra, approaching the Mist where the sled had vanished. There he stopped. The looming clouds of mist stood before him in an impenetrable wall; it settled over his fur tunic and wool sleeves in a fine sprinkling, not so much a fog as suspended ice crystals hovering in the gloom. At last he turned and looked back. The memory's hand was still outflung towards where the sled had been engulfed by the Mist; otherwise, there was no one around, nowhere to go. He turned back to the Mist and lifted a gloved hand.

At his touch, with a tinkling noise like a bell, the mist turned to frost and then to ice, spreading across the wall in its seemingly infinite proportions and turning it solid, so that he was left looking at his own reflection. Kristoff stared. It was the first time he'd seen himself in a mirror since leaving Arendelle. He looked…

He looked like himself. Himself, with his toe-turned boots, his fur tunic, his bobbled hat. He looked down at the lute in his hands, and then up again.

"Show me."

The frozen wall rippled with a green-blue light, and the Voice resisted, the tune coming like a warning chime from within the wall."Please," Kristoff insisted. "I need to know what happened to them."

Another flicker of dying green light, then nothing. With a sigh of defeat and a slump to his shoulders, Kristoff stepped back, and turned to go.

_"Everyone, head west towards the coast! Hurry!"_

Kristoff turned back. A scene was rippling to life across the expanse of frozen ice, in the brilliant golds and scarlets of autumn leaves. Everywhere he saw Northuldrans running, fleeing, looking over their shoulder. In the heart of it all was Yelena, her flaming red hair still only half-streaked with gray.

 _"Yelena! Rana!"_ Lieutenant Matthias emerged from the fray, an injured guard half-slung over his shoulder. _"The earth giants are heading towards the dam. We tried but we couldn't stop them, there were too many."_

 _"The dam?"_ And of course, there were his parents, the leads for their reindeer in hand, two strangely familiar children carried on the deer's backs. His mother's face had gone white at Matthias's words. _"You're sure they're headed for the dam?"_

_"That's the way they were going."_

The husband and wife shared a stunned look, and then seemed to make a decision, lifting the children off the reindeer and setting them down on the ground beside the village elder. _"Ráste and Ánne-Máret, you go with Gran-Gran, okay?"_

_"Auntie Rana?"_

_"Juoksa, come on. There's still time."_

_"No. Rana–"_ Yelena caught her daughter by the hand, _"–there's too many of them, even for you."_

_"If someone doesn't pacify the earth spirits, they could destroy the dam. Arendelle is directly south of here, the flood would kill hundreds of people!"_

" _Arendelle isn't worth your life! I've already lost your father and brother—Rana, I can't lose you too!"_

 _"And I can't lose my son."_ The blonde woman gripped her mother's hands. _"My boy is in Arendelle, mother. I have to save him. Please."_

Yelena searched her face desperately, as if seeking another way. Then she gave a shaken nod and released her daughter's hands, stepping back.

_"Go. Be careful."_

_"We will."_ Rana slung herself up over the reindeer's back. " _Hahp!"_

From the other side of the ice, Kristoff watched the pair ride off down into the valley, the trees growing new branches that closed behind them. A distant earth-shuddering roar echoed up from the valley, and then the memory faded away to shadows and ice, and he was alone. He reached out to touch the ice, but a familiar pulse of violet light shocked through the wall and repulsed his hand, frost skittering across it. Through the ice, the Voice echoed:

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

He drew back, fear hunching his shoulders, freezing inside his chest as he turned. Figures of snow were swirling up out of the drifts:

_"I'm not! I'm not one of those– those barbarians!"_

_"Me, Northuldran? C'mon, do I look Northuldran to you?"_

"I didn't mean…I was just trying to…"

_"Yeah, well, I'm not, so stop tryin' to rip me off!"_

_"Owning a reindeer doesn't prove anything."_

"Okay, I get it…"

" _I told you I'm not, now cut it out!"_

"I get the point–"

_"Bjorgman. Kristoff Bjorgman."_

"I said STOP!"

The memories echoed and died, the snow settling in drifts. The ice harvester exhaled a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose with his gloved fingers. He slumped down against the wall, tears stinging in his eyes. The grief and exhaustion felt like physical weights on his shoulders, and he bowed his head with a low sigh. "I never meant to…"

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

The Voice was fainter now, calling him back the way he'd come. "Just… just give me a minute…"

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

"One minute…then I'll go…"

The ice was freezing over his boots. His hair was streaking white.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah…_

Surely, resting his eyes for a moment wouldn't hurt…

* * *

There _was_ water under the fjord.

It was just far, far below, and it was also frozen.

Hans felt his eyes open slowly, his bleary vision rolling left and right. There was… darkness, above him. Whatever he was lying on was hard and cold, and everything, absolutely _everything_ hurt.

He sat up slowly with a groan of pain, testing his limbs, and found to his relief that there were no broken bones. "Ow. Agh…" He shivered and grimaced, rubbing his shoulder, and at last taking a look around. When he had, he found himself in a small room, perfectly square, with walls and floor lined in solid glassy ice. After a few moments, he recognized it as his cell back in the Southern Isles. _Which means…_

A sudden clash of sound drew his attention and he scrambled to his feet, almost slipping on the ice. Bars had blocked the door out, and in a sudden panic he realized how stupid he'd been.

"No. No, come on–" He ran to the bars and yanked at them, but jerked back almost immediately as frost began to spider over his gloves. Hans took several steps back and then peered around the room, shivering. "No…"

_"No. Brother, please."_

He turned around again and then a third time, but found nobody. He knew the voice, he _knew_ his own voice, but where–?

_"Please. You can't do this to me—I can fix this, I can–"_

_"Fix this? Are you insane?"_

The wall to his left flickered dimly to life, and he turned to see an identical cell reflected back at him, with the notable exception that his reflection was kneeling, bound hand and foot, next to the bars.

" _The Isles will be lucky if we can ever fix what you've done, Hans. You've ruined our relations with Arendelle, possibly permanently. If you rot down here without ever crossing our minds again, it will be far too soon."_

" _Imprison me,"_ he pleaded. _"Confiscate all my property, flog me in the square, do whatever you need to do—please, just don't take away my title. I'll do anything."_

" _Hans, if you could tell me one worthwhile thing you ever did for our family, I'd set you free right now."_

And of course, as he remembered, he'd had no reply. His brother's memory let out a quiet scoff and turned to go.

" _I'm still marriageable."_

His brother turned back. The real Hans looked away, mouth twisting with self-disgust. He'd never forgiven himself for groveling this low.

" _I-I'm good looking…and a Westergård name is still worth something…"_

" _If you still think you're a Westergård,"_ his brother turned away and headed back down the hall, _"then you're even more pathetic than I thought."_

The reflection faded, and Hans was alone. He shivered, looking around for whatever would happen next…

...But nothing did. There was no Voice. There were no more memories. He took the compass out of his pocket and watched it spin; the white arrow went around the face once, twice, a third time. Hans looked up at his hazy reflection in ice. As he watched, he saw one lock of red hair streak to white, and then another.

 _No…_ He turned and rushed back to the bars of the cell. _I've got to get out of here._ He rattled the bars. "Help! Somebody, please, get me out of here!" Nothing. He rattled them again. "Anna! Queen Elsa! Is there anyone there?!"

Nobody answered. A stinging sensation in his fingers made him yank his gloves back; the frost had never stopped spreading, and was now creeping up his sleeves. "Oh no. No, no…Can anybody hear me?! Please! _Anybody!"_

* * *

The journey up the North Mountain was somehow much shorter than she remembered; the glacier seemed to have some way of bending and merging space, so that one moment she was on the far shore of the Arendelle fjord and the next, fleeing through the trees at the base of the mountain. She suspected (as she shivered, climbing the old path as the bright northern-light eddy of her magic drew her onwards) that this was because she remembered her flight that night in precisely such disjointed flashes. Of course, it hadn't felt this _cold_ the last time she'd traversed this path…

(And there hadn't been that grating call at her back, but she had managed by now to, mostly, block that out.)

Eventually she broke through the treeline and found herself on the snowfield leading up to the ice castle. She could see the glittering edifice ahead of her and took a moment to admire her handiwork once again, before something caught her eye a short ways up the path; like everything else around her it seemed to be made purely out of snow and ice, but it seemed to lay somewhat strangely over the drifts, and she hurried towards it.

Upon reaching it she realized immediately what it was: the snowy fabric of her coronation cape lay draped haphazardly over the snow, and not far away, crumpled up where the wind had deposited it, was a translucent bluish memory in silky ice of her old glove. The queen eyed it with some small amount of guilt and a much greater deal of distaste, and then crouched down beside her cape, intrigued. She had actually rather liked that cape, and while throwing it off in a moment of self-liberation had been fun, she'd always somewhat regretted losing it. Was it possible to take things _out_ of Ahtohallan? She wondered…

The moment her hand touched the snowflake-embroidered crocus, a pulse of magic shot out from it through the snow, and a commanding cry rang out through the air around her:

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–AYH!_

The Call went through her chest, through her very heart. It was the closest the Voice had ever been, and Elsa knew she was in trouble.

_Ah-ah–ah, ah-ah-ah-ah—AYH!_

She left the cape and ran for it, sprinting over the snow with frost fractlign in her footsteps, up the stairs.

_Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah!_

The palace doors were right ahead. She'd be safe there, she _knew_ it, the ice palace was hers and so was everything in it–

_AH-AYH!_

She wrenched open the door and slammed it behind her.

The Voice was cut off immediately, and she took several seconds just to breathe, eyes closed. When she opened them again, she was surprised to find herself, not in her ice palace, but in her bedroom back in the Arendelle castle. A faint blue light emanated from the triangular lattice window, like the light from deep underwater, dimly illuminating the room. It was not as she'd left it the night the spirits attacked; the bed was made, the nightstand had different books on it, ones she hadn't borrowed from the library in years, and the papers she usually had stacked on her dresser were gone too. She realized that this was a memory from a time before she'd become queen—before she'd become regent, in fact—and was about to investigate when she remembered the one benefit to her bedroom door that the ice palace did not have. She bolted the lock, and then began to look around.

It was a depressing experience, all told; she'd forgotten how unhappy and closed-off she'd been before Anna had discovered her powers, and the lack of any little trinkets from the town market or gifts from visiting dignitaries were proof of that. There wasn't much to see, and she was about to go peek out the keyhole to see if it was safe to leave when she noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye, and she turned back.

It was her bedroom mirror, near the door. There was something… off, about the reflection in it, which she was certain she'd seen when passing it but was now out of the angle. She approached it again and then stopped, startled.

It wasn't the fact that she was younger in the mirror that surprised her; considering the state of the room, she'd been expecting that. What surprised her was that there were other people in the reflection, too: resting on the shoulders of her eighteen-year-old self (who was, of course, peering down at her gloved hands in anguish), were the hands of her father, who was in turn looking anxiously at the gloved hands gripping his shoulders. King Ruenard, the only one of the three to be looking forward out of the mirror, glowered down at her, his sneering gaze promising that she was not and would never be quite the ruler he was. The young queen took a step back, intimidated, and then whirled around as a sound struck through the bedroom door:

_Knock-knock kn-knock knock!_

Elsa blinked, and then inched closer to the door. "Anna, is that you?"

_Knock-knock-kn-knock knock!_

Her hand was on the doorknob. "I didn't think you were going to follow m–"

 _Knock knock kn-knock knock!_ "Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

She froze.

Anna's voice returned, hauntingly cheerful as it repeated the four notes: "Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

"No." The queen turned around with her back to the door and tried to focus, covering her ears. "You're not real. You're not Anna–"

"Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

She gritted her teeth. "I can't hear y–"

"Ah-ah, ah-ah– _ayh!"_

 _"Go away,_ Anna!"

There was a pause. She lowered her hands cautiously, looking around. Everything was silent. She straightened up, and then shivered badly and collapsed back against the door, her feet slipping on the ice.

"Wh–" She looked down at her hands. The light from the bedroom window was growing dimmer, but in the darkness she saw the frost creeping in hauntingly beautiful patterns over her skin.

"No. No, no no–" She tried to stand up straight again, but her weakening limbs failed her, and she slid down the door to the floor. "No," Elsa whispered, looking down at her hands, and then shivered again, clutching them to her chest. "A-Anna… _help…"_

* * *

"Did you know that every time you breathe, approximately one particle of the air was also breathed by Lief Erickson? Isn't that just fascinating!"

"Uh-huh."

"I mean, I don't need to breathe, of course, but who wouldn't want to anyway with _famous_ air swirling around!"

_"Can anybody hear me?"_

Anna sat up suddenly, broken from her absent-minded nodding. "Olaf…"

"And just think, someday the air _we're_ breathing will be breathed by someone else! Haha!"

"Olaf, stop."

"What?"

"Did you hear that?" Anna stood up from her place at the base of the statue, looking around. "That voice…"

"You mean the Voice of Truth who calls everyone but you?" Olaf asked innocently.

"No– it sounded like–"

_"Please…anybody…"_

She turned, peering at her own reflection in one of the walls. "Like…?"

The wall shimmered, and her own reflection vanished. "Hans?" Anna breathed, rushing towards it.

It was clear what was happening. She watched in horror as the ice crept up his sleeves and the hem of his coat; his boots and gloves were already frozen solid. "Oh no. Hans! _Hans!"_

_"P-please…. Somebody… c-can anybody hear me? Hello?"_

"I can hear you, I'm right here! I can hear you!"

 _"Anybody? Please– oh, no, no…"_ The man raised his frozen hands jerkily to look at them; the ice was past his elbows. _"Oh, Anna, I'm s-sorry,"_ he whispered, _"if I'd known….tchn!"_ He winced badly as the cold reached his chest, and his face twisted with fear. _"Please, somebody… I don't want to die alone, p-please…"_

"I'm here! I'm here…" She saw the freezing statue raise its eyes skywards as the ice crept up his face, frightened and alone, and then he didn't move again. Anna covered her mouth and stumbled back, tears of horror filling her eyes; nobody deserved to die like that, not even Hans. "No…"

_"Anna…"_

She turned, and her heart missed a beat.

_"Anna… I have to… get to…"_

"No. No no no." She ran to the opposite wall, kneeling down beside the reflection beyond which her fiancé was slumped against a frozen glassy surface. His shoulders were covered in drifts of snow, his eyes struggling just to stay open as the ice inched its way over his arms and legs. "Kristoff, stay with me, please–"

" _...To Anna…"_ The frost was creeping over him; his eyelashes were hoary with it, his hair turning white. _"It's so cold…"_

"No. No…"

 _"I'm…I'm tired…I'm sorry…"_ He stirred with a breath, like a bear settling down for hibernation through a long winter. _"I'm so sorry…"_

"Kristoff, _please,_ no…"

_"I'm sorry…"_

Then he was gone. She curled up next to him on the floor, hand half-raised, so close to touching the wall opposite his own, but not daring, as she broke down, whimpering through her tears. "No…don't leave me, please…" Her face twisted with a griamced half-smile, tears glazing her face. "We're getting married…we're going to have a family, you're going to teach the kids how to ice-harvest…please…" Her voice had fallen to a choked whisper. _"Please…"_

_"Anna… help…"_

She froze.

_No._

_"Anna…"_

She turned.

To her right, her sister's figure was hunched against the wall. Slowly, Anna stood and walked over to it. Elsa was shivering.

Elsa never shivered.

"Elsa…"

Her sister stirred, a faint flicker of hope crossing her face. _"Anna?"_

"No," the princess breathed, kneeling down beside her. "No, no. Elsa, please, I can't, not you too–"

_"Anna, is that really you? I can't see you…."_

She half-laughed, half-sobbed, hopelessly. "I'm right next to you."

 _"I can't see you."_ Elsa looked scared, peering around the room sightlessly, as if wherever she was were pitch-black. _"I can hear your voice in the ice, but you sound so far away…Are you safe?"_

"I'm–" She let out another choked laugh; even now, Elsa was still thinking of her first. "Yes. I'm safe. I'm okay, Elsa, it's okay."

 _"Anna, it's cold."_ She saw Elsa shudder again, curling in closer to herself, her back to the wall. Her lips were turning purple. _"I've never been so cold before; I'm scared. I don't think I can make it back."_

"You have to try. Please, Elsa, just try to get up…"

 _"I can't move. It's so cold…"_ And at last, Anna could see why: the ice was creeping, slower, but insistently, over her sister's hands and arms. _"Anna—I'm sorry. You were right all along. I dove too deep."_

"It's okay. It's okay…"

 _"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you bury them. I'm so sorry."_ The ice was beginning to reach her torso. _"I'm sorry for everything."_

"Shh. It's okay. It's all okay."

A tear rolled halfway down her sister's face and froze where the white frost was etching snowflakes along her cheeks. _"M-Mother's lullaby. Can you sing it? Please?"_

The younger sister heaved for breath, once, twice. Then, reed-thin, her voice began to waver through the ice:

_"Where the north wind…. Meets the sea…"_

She heard Elsa join weakly: _"There's a river…. Full of memory…"_

 _"Come my darling homeward bound."_ Her voice cracked. _"When all is lost…"_

She faded off. There was silence in the room, and Elsa's frightened expression stared straight ahead on the other side of the ice. Anna covered her sob with her glove and curled up on the floor.

And for a long, long time, she didn't get up.

At last, her tears ran themselves out, and there was nothing left to do but sit up. Eventually she did, looking around. The dim glow from the statue was the only light in the room. "We have to get out of here, Olaf," Anna whispered, teeth chattering as she stood. "For them. We have to do this for them…" But no voice answered back. She turned. "Olaf?"

Even before she'd said the word, she knew what had happened. The snowman stood silently next to the statue, with coal-stone eyes and inanimate twig arms—a snowman who had only ever been a snowman. Anna stared at him for a long time, numb. She stared at him so long, in fact, that she didn't even realize until she shivered that ice was beginning to freeze over her gloves and boots.

"Oh…" She reached into her pack and lit a match; it flared brightly, a tiny bloom of golden warmth in the darkness. The ice in her gloves and feet receded for a moment—but then the match burned out. Anna watched it, and then slowly leaned back against glass, leaned against the memory of her sister.

She lit another match. It burned down, and went out.

She lit another. It went out.

She lit another…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**A/N: Regarding Yelena's use of the drum, she is in this case acting as a _noaidi,_ or Sámi shaman; traditional Sámi religion holds that _noaidi_ are the mediators between the human world and the spirits. Since I am a devout Catholic I think it's important as a writer that I mention my conflict of interest here, since traditional Sámi shamanism was repressed and outlawed as witchcraft during the Christianization of Scandinavia in the 1600s, especially the _noaidi_. ** **The question of whether there were ever female _noaidi_ is also still a matter of scholarly debate, but I feel that it makes sense considering the context of this story.**

* * *

_[Musical suggestion: Philipp Krätzer's ""All is found"/"Es kommt zu dir" - Disney "Frozen II" on ROLI Seaboard"]_

The earth giants raged over the earth on the far cliff, trampling trees and crushing through the undergrowth. The storm clouds rolling above them in shifting masses of gray groaned out rumbles of thunder, shaking the forest floor, while not-so-far away, the river foamed and flooded over its banks, water spilling in waves over the bridge-rails of the dam. A great roar from the clashing titans echoed across the canyon.

On the near cliff stood a lone woman, her white hair tangling in the ferocious winds which stripped the poplar and maple leaves from the branches around her and drove the cold rain against her skin like ice needles. Her gray-green eyes tracked the movements of the war, narrowed with a grim fear.

Out of the shadows of the trees behind her a male figure in a battered green jacket approached and came to a halt beside her. For a long moment the two stood together in silence, watching the cosmic brawl.

"Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?"

Yelena's gaze remained fixed on the horizon. "The earth is at war with itself. The sky rebels against it; the river is bursting its banks…everything has become disordered. I've never seen it this bad."

"Is there anything you can do?"

A fork of lightning split the sky, painting the pair in quicksilver, and then the thunder rolled in with the darkness. Where the lightning had struck the earth on the other bank, Matthias could see gold and scarlet flames beginning to bloom despite the rain.

Yelena waved a hand; the distant flames were quelled, and the forest was safe again—for the moment. She lowered her hand.

"Anything I could do would be a bandage on an infected wound," she said, troubled. "Whatever's happened in Ahtohallan hasn't helped, it's made matters worse."

"How much worse?"

She turned to look at him, face grave. "What will happen if Arendelle is left without a queen?"

"Arendelle isn't like the Forest Council, Yelena; the people can't just choose a new leader from among themselves. If Queen Elsa or the princess does not return…" Matthias trailed off, shaking his head. "Arendelle would have no leader, no way to make treaties or wage wars…"

"Or end one."

He nodded. They looked back to the warring giants. "What happens now?" he asked.

Yelena shook her head, looking, for the first time in Matthias's memory, completely at a loss of what to do next.

"Gran-gran." They turned. Ryder and Honeymaren had emerged from the treeline, faces serious and eyes frightened. "They're not okay," Ryder said, "are they."

Matthias watched as Yelena pursed her lips, and then set her shoulders. She walked over to her grandson and set a hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do to help them." She held out her other hand, and a small flame appeared in her palm, burning brightly in the darkness of the night, flickering but holding strong against the force of the wind and the rain.

"But maybe there's someone who can."

_[Silent shot of the village and Lieutenant Matthias's men gathered around one of the campfires, faces grave; Yelena stands at the forefront, eyes closed and chanting something unheard, a ceremonial drum in her hand painted with symbols similar to those on Kristoff's lute. The fire flares and flickers; unseen by the onlookers, the silhouette of a gently smiling woman appears amid the flames, and then vanishes—sending up sparks that drift and glow up, up, upwards over the trees of the forest, up to flicker and vanish out as the shot pans to look North over the Dark Sea.]_

_[Shot of a gust of wind fluttering through dying embers, and then rushing out over the sea, foaming waves, piercing mist, driving rain. It sails over the depths as icy scales ripple under the surface, over the wild water-horse galloping over the waves, over the abandoned ship bobbing in the water, and through the open door of Ahtohallan. It flutters around the frozen happy memories, down the steps, down past the massacre of innocence, down into the depths of Ahtohallan.]_

_[Shot of Anna sitting alone in the darkened room, with the last match in her hand, as it burns out to black. And the Voice calls out:]_

VOICE: _Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

* * *

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

Anna raised her head. The tears had long since frozen to her face; frost etchings covered her cheeks and cloak, and her hair, already almost completely white, gained another pale streak, eliminating another band of red. She peered numbly up at the ceiling, as if unable to believe or decipher what she was hearing.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

The Voice called again insistently, and at last something resembling life sparked in her chest—something, even if that something was anger.

"So that's it, is it." Her voice echoed around the empty room, bouncing off the statue, off the icy mirrors holding her loss. "Your chosen one is gone, and now it's the spare's turn, right? Now you're calling me, because you have no one else left."

In response to her bitter accusation, the walls around her flickered to dim life, replaying memories from days past:

_"Oh, Anna. If only there were someone out there who loved you." "Y-You said you did."_

_"Kristoff, are you sure we shouldn't tell Elsa?" "Look, Anna…this is just something I kind of keep to myself, alright?"_

_"What are you so afraid of!" "I said ENOUGH!"_

_"When you get right down to it, most people are selfish and self-deceiving."_

_"I will be whoever and whatever Anna needs me to be."_

_"People don't care about the truth, Anna!"_

The princess shook her head, bewildered. "I don't underst–"

_"Keeping secrets, shutting doors—it only hurts people in the end."_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

_"Then tell the truth and he'll stop trying to drown you!"_

_Ah-ah-ah-ah!_

_"No. This is wrong, Elsa. This is what Ahtohallan wanted to show us, I'm sure of it!"_

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

_"I'm staying here!"_

The memories flickered and died, clearing the walls around her again to show her frozen companions. And at last, Anna understood. She had never heard the Voice, because she had never _needed_ to hear it. It had always been inside her, and she had been following it all along, without needing to be called.

Until now.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

She shook her head. "I can't leave them," she pleaded hoarsely. "They're…they're everything to me, they're my whole life…"

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

She shivered as her hair gained another white stripe, the ice freezing over her boots and the bottom of her skirt. The message was clear. She had found the truth, and now…

…Now she had to bring it back again, to the outside world. No matter who she had to leave behind to do it.

She looked around at the lifeless memories around her: Hans, her enemy, now turned something like an ally—her wakeup call to the real world. In many ways, she was who she was because of him, for better or worse. She peered at his terrified, frozen face, his last plea echoing in her ears; the fear of living and dying completely alone…if she couldn't empathize with that, she didn't know who could.

Olaf…she and Elsa had created them together, hadn't they, all those years ago? Olaf, born of the love between the two sisters; Olaf, love and childhood incarnate, now nothing but a memory.

Kristoff, the love of her life. It wasn't fair, she thought, sucking in a little tearful gasp through her teeth. Kristoff, their life together, was supposed to be her future. Leaving him was hard enough; leaving behind the life they could have had together…was she strong enough to do that?

And Elsa. Her sister; her whole reason, on some level, for existing. Her relationship with Elsa had defined so much of her life, waiting for her sister to open the door, to follow her out into the sunlight, to leave the cold and isolation behind. Now Anna had to leave her. Had to…find some way of existing, without her. Without being _defined_ by her. Who was a princess, without the queen? Who was one sister without the other?

And…Arendelle.

_Arendelle._

Her kingdom, her people, her extended family. If she did this, they would reject her. If she did this, she would have _no one._

Who was she, without these people in her life?

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

The Voice nudged her again, gently, sympathetically, but insistently. She curled closer to herself, drawing several soft sobs…

_[Musical Suggestion: Kristen Bell's "The Next Right Thing"]_

ANNA: I've seen dark before, but not like this.

_[Shivering]_

This is cold, this is empty, this is numb.

The life I knew is over, the lights are out.

_[Closing her eyes.]_

Hello, darkness, I'm ready to succumb.

_[Leaning her head back against the glass, against Elsa's]_

I follow you around, I always have

But you've gone to a place I cannot find.

_[Tears rolling down her cheeks]_

This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down.

_[Gasps twice. Then, slowly, opens her eyes…]_

But a tiny Voice whispers in my mind:

"You are lost, hope is gone.

But you must go on.

_[A bit stronger]_

And do the next right thing."

VOICE: _Ah, ah-ah-ah, ah…_

_[Shot from above of her, surrounded by her frozen companions.]_

Can there be a day beyond this night?

_[Looking at the statue of her grandfather]_

I don't know anymore what is true.

I can't find my direction, I'm all alone.

_[Shot of her back-to-back with her sister]_

The only star that guided me was you.

_[Closing her eyes gain, staggering to her feet]_

How to rise from the floor,

When it's not you I'm rising for?

_[Gritting her teeth and opening her eyes]_

Just do the next right thing.

_[Stepping forward with half-frozen feet]_

Take a step, step again.

It is all that I can,

_[Feet starting to thaw]_

To do the next right thing.

_[Stumbling back up the steps]_

I won't look too far ahead

_[Shivers, moving into the room with the dam]_

It's too much for me to take.

_[Reaching next staircase]_

But break it down to this next breath,

_[Another step]_

This next step

_[Reaching the top step]_

This next choice is one that I can make.

_[Entering the now-darkened hall of happy memories]_

So I'll walk through this night

_[Staggering as she thaws towards the distant hallway, refusing to look back at her past]_

Stumbling blindly toward the light

And do the next right thing.

_[Entering the far staircase as the hallway begins to glow faint rose]_

And, with the dawn, what comes then?

_[Reaching the top of the steps and bracing herself against the exit wall, closing her eyes]_

When it's clear that everything will never be the same again!

_[A soft wind blows around her, ruffling her hair, and she opens her eyes]_

Then I'll make the choice

_[Takes the last few steps forward, thawed]_

To hear that Voice,

_[Out into the dim sunrise]_

And do the next right thing.

_[Looks behind her to find that the door has frozen over again.]_

She turned back. The sea lay before her, crashing dull black and glittering red in the thin dawn light, and she stumbled across the ice towards it. Though she couldn't see herself, her clothes had thawed of all frost and her hair had returned from its white to its coppery red, seeming to glow in the dim light. Alone before the Dark Sea she came to a halt, not knowing what to do or where to go next, not even having the energy left to come up with any sort of plan.

She had escaped from the depths of Ahtohallan. Now what? How would she get home? She didn't know how to sail; she certainly couldn't swim there. She looked down at her bag as if it could possibly contain the answer, which of course it didn't; all she had left was her burnt-out matches. The Voice didn't seem to be calling her anymore. She peered down at the last charred matchstick in her hand, feeling her last dredges of hope threaten to give out.

_[Music selection: "Glacial," by The Hit House.]_

And then, the dead match in her hand flickered to life.

Anna peered down at it, face unchanged, and then looked up.

Against the pitch-black rolling waves of the Dark Sea, over the snow without any source, one little match-flame went up after the other, and another and another, leading across the snowfield to…

_[Shot of the ship bobbing on the black waves.]_

_[Montage of Anna readying the boat for sailing. Checking wind direction, checking the locks and bolts, trimming the sails. She pulls up the anchor using the crank, straining against the weight. Shot of her holding her thumb out to the sea, measuring the center between East and West by the sun and the receding night, and then unfurling one of the hand-drawn maps in front of the horizon, upside-down so that it's facing south as she is. She lowers the map with a nervous but determined nod as cold golden sunlight falls over her face. A pair of shots of her releasing the sails and taking the wheel. The wind catches the sail, filling it out in a white billow, and the ship begins to move, drifting in the current near the snowfield's shore. Anna turns the wheel.]_

_[A wave crashes against the hull of the boat, and sweeps it out into the sea.]_

_[Anna grips the wheel tightly, aiming the prow of the boat south, sun to her left, night to her right. The wind pushes the boat forward, blowing her red hair around her.]_

_[Shot of the boat from above, navigating awkwardly through the waves. The boat wavers and seems to flounder; A particularly large wave washes over the side of the boat, splashing around her feet and pushing the boat sideways. Anna gasps as the wind catches the sails wrong and drives the ship towards a pair of rocks.]_

_[A sudden wind swirls around her and then up into the sails, blowing the boat the right way.]_

VOICE: Na heya!

Hahiyaha naha!

_[The boat scrapes sideways along the rocks, damaging it—before new, green growth erupts from the damaged boards, knitting it back together. Anna grits her teeth and swings the wheel.]_

Naheya heya na yanuwa

Anhahe yunuwana!

_[The waves begin to fan out from behind the boat, pushing it the way it needs to go.]_

Oh!

_[Together with the Spirits, Anna pilots the boat forward, between the breaking waves.]_

Oh-ha!

_[The boat rocks, sways—Anna's face is determined, holding tight to the wheel, hair full in the wind—the boat sways and turns towards open sea—and then—]_

_[Shot of the boat sailing before the sunrise out into the open sea.]_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Disclaimer:** **I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**A/N: Chapter 11 was pretty short, but if you haven't read it yet this chapter won't make much sense without it. Also, kif you want to know what Elsa's dress looks like it's the gray dress you see in her Frozen 2 concept art, but crystal blue instead.**

* * *

"They're back!"

"The scouts are back!"

The townspeople crowded around as the scouts returned from the farms, pulling carts laden with food behind them. Oaken pulled his horses to a halt and clambered down off his sled. "One at a time, one at a time, plenty to go around for everyone!"

Food and new supplies were distributed to the waiting families as the noonday sun cut weakly through the heavy layer of clouds. "Wind's coming from the north," a man remarked, as one group of townspeople sat down to eat. "And I can smell rain coming in."

"We'll have to shore up the tents if there'll be another storm like last night's," one worried woman noted. "And move the firewood under a tarp so it doesn't get too damp…"

"It's been more than two weeks," a second woman, younger than the first, said nervously, peering up at the angry sky. "If Queen Elsa and Princess Anna don't come back soon…"

"Don't even say that," a fellow townsmember admonished.

"But what if they don't? What if something's happened to them?"

"Like what?"

"Like– well, like–"

"Like if they were attacked by the Northuldra."

The small group turned to look at the man who had spoken. "Y-You don't think they have been, do you?" the young woman stammered. The man shrugged.

"Who can say? The Northuldra are barbarians, who knows what they're capable of?"

"But Queen Elsa is so powerful–"

"Didn't you hear what the queen said? The Northuldra have magic, too."

"More powerful than her?"

"Some of them, probably," the man said darkly. "But when you think of it it's kind of funny, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the queen said she didn't know how she angered the Spirits, right? So, hear me out:–" Those around him drew closer, "–What if she wasn't the one who upset them?" A murmur began to spread through the crowd. "Yeah; think about it! What if some Northuldran sorcerer _intentionally_ angered the Spirits, so that the Queen would go visit the North Forest and they'd have the perfect opportunity to…" He drew a finger across his throat.

"But there are no Northuldra left in Arendelle," someone else insisted.

"If I were Northuldra," the man countered, "that's exactly what I'd want you to think."

There was a nervous silence at this, before the first man shook his head. "No. Elias, you're wrong; I worked with some Northuldra five years ago, they were honest people. Being afraid of them is just nonsense!"

"That's the whole problem; you can't tell the good ones from the bad ones!"

"So then what, we treat them all like bad ones?!"

As the debate continued the first woman made a quiet excuse and left, looking around and over her shoulder as she snuck off. Once she reached a family near the edge of the townspeoples' tents, she stopped, and the mother stood and came up to her, bouncing a baby in her arms.

"How is it going?"

The woman shook her head. "Not well. Hanna, listen–" She took the mother's free hand, "–If things start turning badly, Oskar and I will bring all of you north to the Mist."

"We don't want to leave, Ingrid, but I don't know how much longer we can keep this a secret." She looked down at her sleeping baby anxiously. "Isak's powers are getting stronger every day…"

"We will keep you safe," the first woman promised. Hanna looked up at her with an attempt at a smile. It looked more like a grimace.

"You and Oskar are good people, Ingrid." Her smile faded as she looked over at the group, where Elias and the naysayer's bickering had grown louder.

"I just don't know how long this peace can last…"

* * *

Ahtohallan was not silent, when the last breathing soul left its waters.

In the rippling depths of the ice, memories coursed and chorused in lively harmonies, unheard by the outside world but full and bright and _alive_ in their own truth. In its waters reindeer tread lightly over red lichen tundras, massive dragon-headed ships sailed the angry seas, sunshine grew over blooming flowers which rose and then withered again. Ahtohallan was old, very old. It was the resting place of the four spirits, of which consisted all created things, and it stored all that the spirits had seen and been. And there the spirits rested…

…Until a sound came and pleaded for them to act.

The sound was a drumbeat, and the spirits harkened to its call. The wisps of fire which had guided the princess to her ship had been hovering on the ice for a time, burning cheerfully like little golden stars over the ice. When it heard the drumbeat, it rose up lazily and swirled in a gust of orange and gold through the door, the reddish diamond flickering lightly as it passed.

It was met within the glacier by tinkling of ice, crystalizing and thawing, as the snowy figure which rose from the floor shifted between several forms on its path down the icy steps: a horse, a reindeer, a woman with toe-turned boots and a lute on her back, and then again to mist. The mist was ruffled and scattered briefly by an anxious wind, the most unsettled of the spirits, but also the swiftest and freest. It swirled down into the glacier, into the depths, around the three poor souls caught in their isolation, and then back again, chattering as it led the others on their way.

The fourth spirit, one might say, took a moment to appreciate the call of the drumbeat. It recognized its part in the request, and waited for its old friend to take her time. When she had arrived, the impression of her footsteps in the snow filled with new spring grass and flowers, a fresh change to the paltry snowy replicas which had filled them before. One after another her footsteps sprouted with new life, past the wooden lute around which a ring of flowers grew bright, past the poor frozen soul beside the Mist, and then into the ice, where the image bloomed bright and alive.

_Heyo ley-lo!_

The image was that of the fjord, many years past, at sunrise as the golden dawn light poured from over the castle in the distance, and the mother and her son stood watching it together.

VOICE: _Ah-ah ah-ah!_

_(At the Voice's call, the boy's head turns north in awe. The woman looks down at him.)_

RANA: Do you hear it too, Kristoff? _(The boy looks up at her, delighted, and Rana kneels down, half-whispering:)_ You know, you don't need to have magic to talk to Ahtohallan. You just have to listen carefully to its Voice. _(Tapping his nose; Kristoff giggles.)_ Would you like me to show you how?

_(The boy nods eagerly, and Rana stands up again, taking her lute off her back and strumming four familiar notes. The Voice echoes back:)_

VOICE: _Ah-ah ah-ah!_

RANA: _(Calling out through the frigid morning air as she plucks the lute)_ Heyo ley-lo!

YOUNG KRISTOFF: _(Copying her, delighted)_ Heyo ley-lo! _(His mother smiles at him, and he crows even louder:)_ Heyo ley-lo!

_(Rana laughs and replaces her lute on her back to pick her son up into her arms, carrying him on her waist; the boy beams at her, and she taps his nose as she begins to sing.)_

_[Musical suggestion: Sofia Jannok's "Vuolvojavrri."]_

RANA: Heyo lai leyngo ley loi n'la

Heylo heylo, li lu n'la.

Dan Vuolvojávrráža—lai n'la

[That dear lake, Vuolvojávrraš—lai n'la]

Heylo heylo li la.

_(Turns to let her son watch the sun rise over the Arendelle fjord.)_

RANA: Ruovttu aski álo ruoktu lea…

[This hearth will always be home…]

Heylo heylo, li li n'la

Ruovttu aski álo ruoktu lea…

[This hearth will always be home…]

Ja dohko jorggihan.

[That's where I return.]

_(Pressing her forehead to her son's with a smile.)_

Dego Vuolvojávrráža bárut gáddái boađán.

[Like the waves of Vuolvvojávri, I meet the shore.]

YOUNG KRISTOFF: _(Closing his eyes with a smile, almost whispering:)_ Heyo ley-lo.

RANA: Heyo ley-lo…

_(She looks through the wall of ice, down to the now-grown man slumped at her feet. As she slowly sings the herding call one last time, the lute at his side echoes her call:)_

RANA: He-yo ley-lo…

_(The strings of the lute pluck and ring with each syllable, untouched, and then the reverberations fade away, and the memory grows dark again. And yet…)_

_(...And yet, the man's frozen shoulders stir, and begin to rise again with a shallow breath.)_

* * *

There was silence in the darkness, in the frozen depths, in the statue's ears. Silence, until through the many caverns and tunnels above and below, the faint noise of some distant call echoed off the walls, and into the room around her.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

A fogged cloud misted across the frozen lips.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

The last free threads of the tiny pink star, with the center knotted over her heart, thawed a few strands further, and the icy surface of the mirror to her right flickered and brightened.

_"Come on…come on…!"_

Inside the mirror the young Northuldra girl knelt beside the river, the pink scarf knotted over her shoulders, and held out her tensed hands over the water. _"Please!"_ she hissed, tears brimming in her eyes. The river flowed on at its natural pace, unresponsive.

A single hot tear brimmed, too, in the eye of the frozen statue. It slipped down her glassy cheek and hit the ice floor, steaming.

_"Elsa, do the magic! Do the magic!"_

A sparkle of hazy ice appeared near the ceiling, high above her, and drifted downwards in a bright glitter in the darkness, the echoes of laughter ricocheting off the walls around her as other memories joined the chorus:

_"Why? After what Arendellians took from you, and from the other Northuldra in our kingdom…why don't you hate us?"_

_Ah-ah…_

_"Don't forget your scarf."_

_"Keep it for now. Maybe it will help you find what you're looking for in Ahtohallan."_

_Ah-ah, ayh!_

_"This is ama-azing!"_

_"Watch this!"_

And still, the Northuldra girl pleaded tearfully with the river to heed her call.

_"Please…I have magic, I know I do…just give me a chance…!"_

The childish giggles mixed with the girl's repressed hiccups and sobs as the mirror dimmed to black. Yet in the deep and frozen darkness, the tears rolled off the face of the statue and plinked, one by one, onto the floor. The woven scarf's knot thawed to a deep rose, and the heart beneath it gave a single weak beat.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…!_

* * *

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

The frozen call echoed in the silence, off the faceted walls of ice.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

It echoed through the frozen heart, a chime like a crystal bell.

_I can hear you…_

The statue of the man breathed, eyelids shuddering and scraping like cut glass as he blinked. He drew another breath. And another.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah…_

_"I can hear you."_ The voice was a whisper, hoarse, as the statue turned its head skywards, towards the endless black sky. _"I can hear you,"_ it repeated a third time, and the voice of the boy replied:

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah…"_

The statue turned slowly and saw the boy, for water has memories, and he was one with the water and with the truth he held gripped in his fist, terrified to let it flow away, lest it become the flood.

_"Brother? Will you play with me?"_

The unkind laughter echoed through the walls, facets flickering darkly with history.

_"Do you hear something, Jacob?"_

_"I hear a little flea, Ole, a little flea in my ear!"_

The walls echoed with footsteps and laughter, departing, deserting. The statue watched silently as the boy turned every which way, repeating his unending question: _"Brother, will you play with me? Play with me? Brother? Will you? Brother, will you play with me?"_

_"Pathetic…"_

The boy of ice turned to the statue of ice. _"You're so pathetic,"_ the statue uttered hoarsely. _"When will you learn that there's nobody out there who loves you?"_

The walls shuddered and flickered like black mirrors. The boy of ice turned to watch as the phantom-figures rippled around him: weak-willed mother, corrupt father, mocking, neglecting, tormenting, torturing brother. Self-absorbed princess. Irresponsible queen. The boy turned back to the statue.

Then he held out the icy toy boat.

_"Brother? Will you play with me?"_

There was a silence.

Then the statue bowed its icy head with a broken smile, and sat down, cross-legged beside the boy, and started to play.

_"You be the boat, see, and I'll be the sea-serpent…rawr! Rawr! No, that's not how you do it!"_

The statue's mouth creaked as he uttered a hoarse laugh. The boat maneuvered through imaginary waves as the boy scrambled around, trying to catch it. After several attempts he collided with the statue's hand and knocked the boat skittering to the ground. When he picked it back up, the spindle-thin ice mast had snapped in two.

He looked up at the sound of clinking, and the boy of ice withdrew from the man of ice, terror in his face, terror of even opening his mouth.

"No, hey, it's okay. Look, here." With warming hands, pinking, thawing, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew an ice kerchief that thawed slowly into cloth as he tore a strip from it and tied it around the broken mast. He handed the boat back to the boy, who took it hesitantly and then looked up.

_"I'm sorry."_

The man's voice stuck in his throat for a moment, before he managed the reply: "I forgive you."

The boy of ice smiled and then launched himself into the folds of the man's wool coat and threw his arms around his neck. Hans gave a soft, incredulous laugh as he embraced the child back and ruffled his snowflake-fine hair. Hot tears welled up and rolled down his face, and he closed his eyes, hugging the boy tight as the last of him thawed to life again.

_[Musical suggestion: "SHOW YOURSELF (Frozen 2 Cover) by Gabi and Collin," (on YouTube)]_

When he opened his eyes again, the prison of ice had grown lighter, no longer a deep midnight but now a dim blue. His younger self picked up the boat and began caper around the room, "flying" the boat through the invisible sea and calling out sailors' commands. Hans rose to his feet, smiling sadly.

HANS: "Every inch of me is trembling, but not from the cold…"

_(He turns as the boy runs towards the side of the cell and "through" the bars, which turn into snowflakes behind him.)_

HANS: "Something is familiar…" _(Walking into hallway)_ "Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold."

HANS: "I can sense you there…" _(He peers around the corner and sees a fleeting glimpse of the boy, who disappears up a staircase at the far end of the hall.)_ "Like a friend I've always known. _(Walking forward.)_

_(Cut to Kristoff, who's beginning to thaw, eyes still closed)_

HANS: _(VOICEOVER)_ "I'm arriving–" _(Breath fogs in front of the ice harvester's mouth. )_ "-And it feels like I am...home."

KRISTOFF: _(Frowning despite his closed eyes)_ "I have always been a locked chest—cold secrets deep inside." _(Looking up)_ "You have secrets too…" _(The snow-memory of his young self pauses in his approach to the wall and peers over at him, snowy lute in hand.)_ "But you don't have to hide."

HANS: "Show yourself." _(The boy with the boat smiles back at him from the other side of a glass wall by the staircase, now thawed and warm.)_ "I'm dying to meet you."

KRISTOFF: Show yourself. It's your turn… _(His younger self finally walks "through" the ice-mist, turning it to snowflakes and revealing a hallway in his wake; Kristoff slowly stands, picking up the lute:)_ "Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life…? Oh– _(Sudden expression of dawning understanding as he looks at the symbols on the back of hte lute; looking up suddenly)_ Show yourself. _(Determination, stepping towards hallway:)_ I'm ready to learn.

KRISTOFF: _(Slinging lute over his back; herding call:)_ Ah-ah, ah-ah!

VOICE: _"Ah-ah, ah-ah…" (Both Hans and Kristoff lift their heads at the call and then hurry forward.)_

ELSA: _(On her feet now, fighting off the ice as she thaws)_ "I've never felt so certain,

All my life I've been torn.

_(Looking down at her hands)_

But I'm here for a reason.

_(Clenching them as frost sparkles across the floor)_

Could it be the reason I was born?

_(Snowflakes swirl into figures around her as she walks forward: playing in the snow with Anna; making Olaf; creating her ice-castle.)_

I have always been so different

Normal rules did not apply

_(Reaches her "dresser" and opens a drawer, revealing an ornate ice box)_

Is this the day?

Are you the way

_(Turns with her icy coronation crown on her head)_

I finally find out why?

_(Sweeps her hand; the rest of the ice shatters off her.)_

Show yourself!

_(Ice sparkles, creating skirt.)_

I'm no longer trembling!

_(Holding out arms; sleeves appear)_

Here I am

_(Sweeps back her hand, finalizing a regal crystalline gown and cape, covered in ice embroidery of the Arendellian crocus)_

I've come so far!

_(Moving towards the mirror, which has frosted over)_

Your are the answer I've waited for–

_(Ice reflects the frost-blurred image of the Northuldran woman holding a bundle in her arms)_

–All of my life!

_(Reaches out a hand to the mirror; it shatters to reveal a staircase-hallway)_

Oh, show yourself!

_(Stepping into hallway, peering around)_

Let me see who you are…"

KRISTOFF: _(Moving around corner of tunnel, looking up at the hallway)_

Come to me now…

Open your door…

_(The symbols on the lute on his back begin to glow green, red, blue, gold:)_

Don't make me wait,

One moment more.

ELSA: _(Upwards through the staircase)_ Come to me now

 _(Seeing her bedroom door at the end)_ Open your door.

 _(Opening the lock)_ Don't make me wait–

HANS/KRISTOFF/ELSA: _(Seeing each other as they enter the massive cavern of good memories)_ One moment more!

_(As they reach the center the floor glows a brilliant white; one after the other the symbols of the four elements appear: water beneath Elsa, earth beneath Kristoff; wind beneath Hans, and fire where the empty space lies. The glow grows brighter and brighter, snowflakes swirling and accumulating into a figure before the symbol for fire:)_

CHORUS: _Where the north wind meets the sea…._

_(The girl on the boat holds tight to the wheel with one hand, cupping her mouth with the other, as the invisible wind streams in her snowflake hair:)_

ANNA: "Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

ELSA: "Anna…!"

CHORUS: _There's a river…_

ANNA: "Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

_(The snowflakes whirl again and coalesce:)_

CHORUS: _Full of memory…_

_(The pregnant Northuldran woman holds the laboring Arendellian queen's hand and smooths her hair, magic glowing from her fingers:)_

RANA: "Come, my darling, homeward bound…"

_(The magic between their gripped hands suddenly shines bright:)_

KRISTOFF: "I am found…"

_(CHORUS appears behind ice: thousands of figures ringed around them—the whole of Arendelle, back to the vikings, and of the Northuldra, on the red-mossed tundra. At the forefront are KING AGÐAR, QUEEN IDUNNA, KRISTOFF'S MOTHER AND FATHER; on Hans's side, his own YOUNGER SELF stands on the ice in front of the North Sea with the toy boat in his hand.)_

CHORUS: "Show yourself.

Step into your power!"

_(Elsa covers her mouth, tears rolling down her face; Kristoff laughs incredulously and wipes his eyes.)_

CHORUS: "Throw yourself–"

_(The young boy looks delightedly towards the open sea–)_

"Into something new!"

KING: _(Holding out the Holy Relics as if to hand them to his daughter)_ You are the one you've been waiting for–

KRISTOFF'S MOTHER: _(Lute in hand) "_ All of your life!"

YOUNG-HANS: "All of your life…" _(Hans takes a sharp, shuddering breath and scrubs his eyes.)_

CHORUS: "Oh, show yourself!

VOICE: "Ah-ah ah-ah…"

_(Kristoff and Elsa turn to each other; he sucks in a sudden breath as she sweeps into a low curtsy and bows her head.)_

"Ah-ah, ah-ah…"

_(The four spirits swirl aroudn them, deferring to Kristoff for permission; he nods, and they rush off up the staircase to the door, bursting it open)_

"Ah-ah, ah-ah!"

_(The trio rush out and stop in the bright sunlight gleaming off the snow to find a ship waiting for them, made of ice, as the door reseals behind them.)_

* * *

The grind and crackle of sparkling ice made them turn as the door froze over again, sealing Ahtohallan once more. One after another the four diamonds on the door lit up—fire, air, water, earth—as the four-toned voice of the memory-horde rang out over the sea one final time:

" _Ah-ah ah-ah!"_

And then there was silence on the snowfield—an awed silence, broken by the queen turning to the ice-harvester. "How did you…?"

"I-I don't totally know myself." He took the lute off his back with an expression of wonder. "It's not magic, but…"

"You can interact with the Spirits. They listen to you." He looked up with a nod and a half-disbelieving smile. "That's what happened in Arendelle."

"I-I guess so, yeah."

"We're alive…" They both looked over as Hans stumbled a few steps and then sat down heavily on the snowfield, looking shell-shocked. "We made it. We're alive." Elsa covered her mouth as she giggled, and he looked up at her, intimidated. "Why are we alive?"

The queen untied the scarf from around her shoulders, looking at the four-diamond pattern. "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart," she replied wryly. Hans gave a stunned nod and looked out at the sea. "Is everyone okay? Nobody's hurt, are they?"

"Wait a minute," Kristoff realized. "Anna's on the boat, so where's–"

"Hello! Over here!"

They turned to see a certain stick arm waving over the bullwark of the ice-ship, and then the stick arms disappeared only to hold up the snowman's head a moment later for a better view. "Olaf!" Elsa ran over to the edge of the snowfield, peering up at him, as the others followed. "You're alright! I was afraid that without my powers, you'd…"

"How did you get out of Ahtohallan?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh, I didn't!" he replied cheerily as skipped down the gangplank, much to their queasy expressions. "The Spirits remade me; pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah… neat…"

"What happened to you guys? You look like you've all had a really traumatizing experience," Olaf said innocently. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, we…" Elsa turned to Kristoff, a look of realization dawning on her face. "Your mother." Kristoff nodded, looking down at the lute in his hands. "Your mother gave me magic—me, an Arendellian. She interceded with the Spirits for me _;_ she believed Arendelle and the Northuldra could find the Truth together–"

"She gave her life to save Arendelle." The queen fell silent. "My father, too. I saw it, Elsa. They saved you, and Anna, and me and—everyone. Even though Arendelle was their enemy. They did what was right…"

"Even when it hurt them," Elsa finished. Kristoff nodded. "Kristoff…"

"Anna's on her way to destroy the dam."

"I know."

"It'll decimate the town."

"I know." She took a deep breath and then said firmly: "But the dam has to fall. Even if…even if Arendelle has to suffer for it. And the people have to be told the truth. All of it."

"Even if they throw us out afterwards." The queen gave a rueful smile and nodded. "So…I guess we head back to the Forest."

"There may be another option."

They turned. Hans had apparently found his bearings, as he was on his feet again and half-smirking at them. "But please, don't mind me, that was quite moving." The queen's face turned deadpan. "I'm serious! Stirring stuff, historians will weep over it for centuries–"

"Cut the sarcasm and spill it, Sideburns," Kristoff warned.

"The Queen has magic ice powers," the sailor said bluntly. "Let Anna bring down the dam, then freeze the wave before it hits Arendelle. Simple."

"Simple, except for the part where we somehow sail across the Dark Sea and reach Arendelle before Anna knocks the dam down," Elsa pointed out. "Besides, every time I've tried to do something similar it's failed. If I'd thought I could freeze a whole river in one shot I would have happily destroyed the dam."

"That is the sort of thing you can only test once," Kristoff appraised, nodding.

"First off, if Anna's going to destroy the dam anyway then you've got nothing to lose by trying. And second, I didn't say you should sail there." Hans nodded to indicate something over her shoulder; there was a sound of splashing water onto the glacier's snowfield, and she turned. Standing in front of them was the water spirit, the eerie green-blue light of its eyes watching her.

"The Nøkk…"

"You said you wanted to tell the people the truth," Kristoff pointed out. The water-horse whinnied and stamped its hooves. "I think it likes that."

Elsa didn't answer, instead holding a palm to the spirit's nose. The Nøkk snuffled it and snorted. At her touch, frost froze over its body.

"Queen Elsa." She turned back. Hans met her eyes. "You know what will happen, if your resolve wavers for even a second. And we won't be there to save you this time. You'll have to do this alone."

She hesitated, and then turned and set her shoulders. With a wave of her hands, an icy set of reins appeared in her hand, and swung herself onto its back.

"Good luck," Hans called.

"Thank you. And, Kristoff–" She met the man's gaze, and made her vow: "I promise, after I save Arendelle, I will make this right."

"How do I know we can trust you?" he asked.

"I give you my word, as Queen of Arendelle. I'll return to the Forest. What happens next will be your decision."

An abrupt gust of wind swirled around him, picking up snowflakes in its wake. It hovered before Kristoff, who nodded. "Show her the way back."

The gust of wind shot off across the sea and was gone. In a flash, the queen was after it, sunlight glinting off the water, and then she was gone.

The two men and the snowman watched for a long moment as the glittering star-like figure vanished over the edge of the horizon. It was an ethereal, peaceful moment.

And then that moment vanished as Olaf sighed, "Wow," and Hans and Kristoff both abruptly realized that they had to sail back to the mainland. Together. Alone.

"Uh…" Hans frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "So you and Princess Anna are…?"

"Yeah. I mean hopefully, you know, with everything that's happened–"

"I'm glad she, um, found someone–"

"Yeah."

Another beat of silence.

"Sailing?" Kristoff suggested.

"Sailing," Hans declared fervently, and both headed off to the ice-ship.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** **I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I also do not own Idina Menzel's "Brave." I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

The morning sun was rising in a ball of fire over the cliffs of the Forest when at last the small ship made its way through the channel and up the river, the wind-spirit filling the sails. The blazing light cut through the forest trees above her and cast the river canyon in shadow.

It was from this vantage point that Anna got her first view of the Northuldra: standing in lines along the cliffs, spears in hand, silhouettes against the sun. She peered up at them almost listlessly, slumped against the wheel.

Then the silhouettes began to move, hurrying down the cut-steps from the canyon walls to the banks of the river. Gale released the sails as the boat drifted in the water and began to move downstream again, and the princess dropped the anchor and lowered the gangplank, from which she staggered down onto the shore. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled as her feet hit the pebbly ground, only to find a pair of strong hands catching her by the shoulders. She looked up.

"Lieutenant…"

"Princess!" Matthias helped her straighten up as his men and the village surrounded her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm–" She couldn't finish. "Where's Yelena?"

"I'm here; where are the others? What happened?" Yelena demanded, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. Anna met her eyes and then shook her head, exhausted. A murmur went through the crowd. "...Kristoff?" the village elder said in a hushed voice.

"He's…" Anna sighed. "He's gone. They're all…" Yelena took a step back, dazed. Honeymaren braced her with a hand on her shoulder, while Matthias looked to the princess.

"The Queen." Anna shook her head again.

"They dove too deep." There was a long silence while everyone processed this.

"If Queen Elsa is dead," said Matthias at last, "then–" But Anna was still shaking her head, more firmly now.

"No. I can't, Matthias. I can't go back to Arendelle, I can't…I can't be queen." She took a deep breath and stepped back, meeting his eyes. "I found the truth. We have to destroy the dam."

There was a stir through the crowd. "Destroy…the dam?" Matthias repeated, dumbfounded. "Princess Anna, if we did that–"

"I know. I know, but it's the only way to make this right." She turned to the Northuldra. "We found the Truth in Ahtohallan. Arendelle started the battle, not the Northuldra. It was all King Ruenard's plan, he told his men to kill your magic-users."

"Is that true?" The village elder demanded of the lieutenant, who looked equally dumbstruck.

"Yelena, I swear, I knew _nothing_ about this."

"The Mist wasn't trapping you in the Forest," Anna continued, "it was _protecting_ you from Arendelle." To Yelena, she stated outright: "My grandfather killed your husband. The dam was a trap. That's why there hasn't been anyone born with water-magic since Elsa; it was meant to weaken your power to use Arendelle's fjord against us. So that…" She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth: "So that Arendelle could take your people prisoner and seize the forest for ourselves."

There was a beat of silence while the village and guards processed this.

"Then it's clear what we have to do." Anna opened her eyes and looked up. Matthias put a hand to his sword, and Yelena stepped back, eyes widening—before Matthias undid the buckler and threw his sword to the ground. "Men! Surrender your arms!"

"Sir!"

There was a clatter of swords hitting the forest floor. Matthias met the Elder's eyes. "The truth has been found. Yelena, my men and I will set this right."

"If you think you're doing this alone, then you're crazy." They looked over to see Honeymaren stepping forward, spear in hand and determination written across her face. "Ryder?"

Her brother hesitated, and then shrugged. "I suppose we can work together, for this."

"Lieutenant Matthias," Anna said. The man looked down. "If we do this… it will cause a lot of suffering for Arendelle."

"Are the people out of the town?" Anna nodded. "Is there any other way? Any way at all?" She hesitated, and then shook her head.

"No. The Mist is protecting the Northuldra because Arendelle took away their ability to protect themselves. The only way to return their magic is to break the dam." Matthias nodded.

"Then we'll deal with the damage to Arendelle afterwards. Right now, we do the next right thing."

"Princess." Anna looked at Yelena. The older woman was studying her face. "If you do this, your people will reject you. And without my grandson…you have nothing which binds you to us. You will be a woman without a kingdom."

"I know. But that doesn't matter anymore." She took a step towards Yelena and held out her hands; the older woman half-smiled ruefully and took them in hers. "I wanted things back in Arendelle to stay the same," Anna confessed. "I didn't want my life to change at all. But that was selfish. Staying the same isn't _good_ enough anymore, it never was." She looked around at the gathered village. "My family should have fixed this a long time ago, and I'm sorry for that, but I'm here now. What do you need me to do?"

The Northuldra shared glances all around, and to her relief, Anna saw smiles beginning to form on their faces.

* * *

"Taking down the dam won't be easy," Honeymaren said pensively. The village had gathered around a map Anna had taken from Hans's cabin. "Earth-magic doesn't work on worked stone, and all of the stones in the dam were hand-cut."

"Runeard always was a clever one," Matthias said darkly.

"If we used magic to move earth around the dam, we could put tension on the stones," Yelena said, frowning at the map. "But we will need everyone—and I mean everyone, every village in the forest. The earth-enchanters of our village won't be enough on their own; we're trying to move a mountain here. And Matthias, your men have the most experience with the stone giants." The lieutenant raised his eyebrows. "Do you think you could scare them in the dam's direction?"

The man whistled quietly, thinking, and then nodded. "I think so, if we were careful. You'd have to keep your people out of the way."

"We'll send them in close to the dam and have our people standing up on the slopes."

"But how are we going to get the earth-enchanters from the other villages on board?" Ryder pointed out. "With Mr. Westergård gone it could take weeks to send everyone a message."

Even as he spoke, however, a sudden noise rang out through the forest: a long, low note, blown from a horn. Yelena raised her head, startled; another horn joined the fray, and then a third, each from a different direction.

"What's that?" Anna asked Honeymaren, as several of the villagers rose to their feet.

"Other villages," she said, awed. "But how–"

Out of the trees around the tents emerged at least half a dozen figures: Anna turned every which way, stunned and somewhat dazzled by the new arrivals. Though they dressed like Yelena and the others, there was differentiation in their clothing: some were dressed in reindeer-hide like the village, others in bright blue wool tunics, others in dark navy. Some tunics were decorated with intricate red ribbons; some wore tall embroidered hats; some wore fringed shawls like Honeymaren's and others without fringe. Some of them wore bright silver brooches, others intricately woven and spangled belts.

"Elder Yelena." One of the new Northuldra, a middle-aged man with gray in his hair, stepped forward, surveying the scene. "And… everyone else, I see."

"Elder Bávllos," Yelena said. "How did you–"

"The Spirits," one of the other elders said, looking around at the rest. "They compelled us here."

"They have become united again," said a third. "United as they haven't been for twenty years."

"Who is that girl?" said a fourth, and the rest turned to look at Anna. "She's not one of us."

Anna hesitated, and then set her shoulders. "My name is Princess Anna, of Arendelle. I've come to help you destroy the dam."

"Bring down the dam…" the one Yelena had called Bávllos repeated in a murmur. "And why would an Arendellian want to do that?"

"I went– that is, I– ehm–"

"She went to Ahtohallan to find the truth." Anna fell silent in surprise as Honeymaren stepped forward. "She says that Arendelle was responsible for the battle and destroying the dam is the only way to free the Forest."

"And what does the Lieutenant have to say about that?" Bávllos said, raising his eyebrows suspiciously at Matthias and his men.

"The Lieutenant is going to help," Matthias said back, a tad coolly.

"We will need all of us," said Yelena to the rest of the Council. "Have you brought any of your earth-enchanters?"

The other village leaders glanced around, sharing smiles. "Head Elder…we've brought _everyone."_

Honeymaren and Ryder shared a stunned look. "Everyone?" Yelena repeated, astonished.

Had Anna been able to see the forest from a bird's eye view, she would have known why. All along the Forest paths, hundreds of Northuldra were moving among the trees, led and urged by the Spirits—converging upon the dam in the dawn light.

* * *

_[Musical suggestion: Christophe Beck's "The Flood" from Frozen II.]_

"Are we all ready?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Yelena and her people? The earth-enchanters?"

"Everyone is in place, your Highness."

"Good." Anna stood from where she'd been double-knotting her boots and shouldered her pack. A stiff wind was blowing over the cliffs, where the Northuldra enchanters and Lt. Matthias and his men were waiting for their part in the plan. The river thundered far below her in the canyon, white foam misting where the river was let out in its incremental amounts. "There's a storm coming in," she noted, eyeing the fierce clouds gathering above them.

"Princess Anna, please," Matthias urged, setting a hand on her shoulder and drawing her gaze earthwards again, "let me or one of my men do this. It's too dangerous–"

"No," Anna said firmly. "Matthias, I have to do this myself. It _has_ to be me, can't you see that?"

Matthias studied her face, and then let out a quiet sigh and nodded. "I do." He smiled at her sadly. "I can see why His Highness liked you. Rana would have been proud to have you as a daughter. As would have your parents."

Anna half-smiled back, though it was tainted, too, with sadness. "The next right thing?"

Matthias nodded. "The next right thing." He stepped back towards his men, and saluted. "Good luck, Princess."

"Good luck, Lieutenant." She took a deep breath, turned towards the trees, and, gritting her teeth, dashed into the forest.

Red leaves and foliage flashed around her on all sides; she jumped over logs and ducked under branches, and then found the rut of destroyed bushes and trees. She followed the carnage until at last she burst through a small treeline and found herself in front of a gully, in which were sleeping…

Anna took several deep breaths. The earth-giants were even more monstrously huge and frightening up-close than from a distance. She steeled her will, clenching her fists and shouting out: _"Wake up!"_

The moment she'd said it, she knew it was the dumbest thing she'd ever done. But Anna was nothing if not persistent, so when the earth giants merely stirred, she topped that idiocy with a new record:

_"WAKE UP!"_

The massive cragged face moved.

The massive cragged hands clenched.

The massive cragged legs stood, and Anna felt her mouth fall open.

They were towering. The mountains themselves seemed to move, trees being crushed in their wake. They were terrifying. They were… fighting.

In their clumsy bid to awaken, one giant had tumbled onto another; the second, rudely awakened, threw off his brother and slammed him into the opposite gully's wall. As the first stood up, Anna saw her chance to redirect their anger towards more constructive purposes.

"That's it," she breathed, nodding, and taking several _large_ steps back. "Come and get me! _Come on!"_

The giants obeyed, and Anna _booked it._

The mad dash _back_ through the trees was a lot less simple. The roar of their anger and the thunder of their footfalls knocked her off her feet more than once, red autumn leaves scattering through the air around her. Anna scrambled to her feet again. "That's right! Keep coming!"

Back on the cliffs, Matthias and his men saw the great stony heads appear over the tree-tops. "She's leading them to the dam!" he called back to his men. "Come on!"

The giants had obeyed her call, and Anna ran for her life. Unfortunately, as it turned out, little human legs just couldn't compete with the long strides of the giants. The shadows repeatedly blocking out the sun were getting closer, and the dam was still far off. _Oh no. Oh no no no–!_

A stone footfall shuddered the earth under her feet and threw her forward; Anna shrieked and scrambled to her feet, but it was too late. As the stone foot loomed down overtop of her, she let out a scream.

And then something picked her up, threw her backwards, and she landed, sitting, on something hard and furry and _moving,_ and she was back in the weak sunlight and the red autumn leaves. "What the– Sven!"

The reindeer gave a huffing snuffle and his distinctly reindeer-y smile as he glanced back at her, still galloping with the rest of the reindeer herd streaming past them on all sides. "Good boy, Sven!" Anna gasped, patting his neck. "Come on; we gotta lead them to the dam!"

Sven huffed again, narrowed his eyes, and charged.

Trees flashed, and then the dam appeared ahead of them. Standing across the near entrance, swords and crocus-emblazoned shields at the ready, stood Matthias and the Arendellian guards. "There she is! Men! At the ready!"

"Sir!"

The giants broke through the treeline behind Anna and the racing herd.

"NOW!"

_CLANG!_

As the reindeer and Anna veered off along the line of the cliff towards the Northuldra, the giants' heads were drawn towards the dam at the infuriating sound. "AGAIN!" Matthias roared, and the soldiers beat their swords on their shields. _CLANG! CLANG!_

Enraged by the discordant sound, the giants bellowed and turned course. "Now!" Yelena called, and around her, the Northuldran earth-enchanters yanked upwards at the air with their hands. Small walls of stone shot out of earth, hemming in (and protecting) the angered giants, who tore stones off the walls and hurled them at Matthais and his men.

"Get out of the way!" The soldiers hurled themselves off the platform and cowered against the small wall holding up the path to the dam. As the boulders struck the bridge of the dam, they saw the railings begin to crumble.

"All together!" Yelena cried. The earth-enchanters dropped to the ground, and Anna, who had hopped off of Sven near them to watch, saw them place their hands to the earth.

Then the earth began to shake.

It was like nothing she had ever felt before. The whole world seemed to be trying to throw her off its back, like an upset horse, and she stumbled and swayed, trying to retain her footing. Ahead of her, through the shuddering, she saw the dam crack further under the strain. A spray of water broke through, then another. A hurled stone made a massive hole and water began to gush through the fracture.

"Honeymaren!" Anna looked over. Through the shaking, she saw Ryder gesturing to his sister, whose hat had fallen off, and Anna's mouth fell open. The twins' hair was striping white. Honeymaren looked down at her hands, and then her gaze shot upwards to the dam.

She held out her hands to the river, fingers tensed in that oh-so-familiar manner. Ryder followed.

The water began to gush more forcefully, blasting off stone after stone. The fractures spread. The giants howled and threw their stones, seeming to sense the true enemy.

And then, in one sudden, roaring, gushing wave, the dam burst.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah!_

A four-pointed light like a star went off in the sky. The white water flooded the canyon and filled it, almost to the top. As the wave thundered down, Matthias staggered to his feet, the earth ceasing to quake, and he stumbled towards the edge. His eyes shot across the way to Yelena, who was watching the destruction in gape-mouthed awe. He looked down to the small cairn of stones and sword at his feet.

Nobody noticed. Nobody needed to notice. This was _personal._

With the heel of his boot, he tipped the cairn, sword and stones and all, into the river as it raced past.

Among the Northuldra, everyone stood in awe for a moment, watching the river flood past, and then a great cheer went up from the crowd. "Ryder!" Honeymaren gasped, looking down at her hands; her brother laughed, incredulous, and then summoned a small swirl of water from the river, which he "tossed" to his sister; she caught it in a small sphere in her hands, laughing.

The giants calmed and lumbered back into the trees. A soft rain began to fall from the once-angry stormclouds, and a gentle leaf-strewn wind swirled around Anna, who was staring at the crumbling remains of the dam.

As the celebrations continued on around her, she sank to her knees, numb. Honeymaren, the first to notice, turned. Tears were rolling down the princess's face.

Anna let out a soft gasp, and then a sharper one. Her arms curled in on themselves, and she began to sob. The Northuldra around her fell silent, one by one, but Anna couldn't bring herself to care. It was done. It was done, and now she… she…

A hand settled on her shoulder, and she looked up.

It was Ryder.

The twins knelt down beside the princess as she broke down, Ryder gripping her shoulder, Honeymaren pulling her into her arms, as Anna wept into her chest like a child.

* * *

_[Musical suggestion: Idina Menzel's "Brave" (Acoustic Version)"]_

_(Scene: the Dark Sea. Storm clouds cover the sky, and the blue-green sea thrashes below, foaming. Across the sea a figure is racing on the back of the Nøkk, cape flying out behind her. Elsa's eyes are determined, fixed forward)_

ELSA: (VOICEOVER, NOT SUNG) I don't know just where I'm going,

And tomorrow, it's a little overwhelming,

_(Waves foam on all sides)_

And the air is cold,

_(The Nøkk's hooves flash across the waves)_

And I'm not the same anymore.

_(The foaming waves begin to turn into snow as she passes, forming images: herself holding the candlestick and vase, looking at an identically-posed figure of her father with the Relics)_

I've been running in your direction

For too long now—

_(Looks down at water; her image is warped by the waves)_

I've lost my own reflection.

_(Looking up)_

And I can't look down

_(Races past the image of her father…)_

If you're not there to catch me when I fall…

…

_(Past a snow-figure of herself creating her ice castle)_

If this is the moment I stand here on my own—

_(Racing past a snowy figure of herself taking up the Relics)_

If this is my rite of passage that somehow leads me home—

_(Looks back over shoulder, hesitating)_

I might be afraid,

_(Steels herself and looks forward again)_

But it's my turn to be brave.

_(Racing past an image of her curtsying to her departing parents)_

If this is the last chance before we say goodbye,

_(Sad but resolved, looking all the part a queen, no longer the scared little girl)_

At least it's the first day of the rest of my life.

_(Past the image of her throwing off the gloves.)_

I can't be afraid,

Cause it's my turn to be brave.

…

_(Past the image of her younger self throwing the starburst of snowflakes up to the ceiling for the giggling child-Anna.)_

All along all I ever wanted, was to be the light

When your life was daunting

_(Past a snow-figure of her and Anna arguing on the shore.)_

But I can't see mine

When I feel as though you're pushing me away.

_(Past the image of her in her coronation gown, fleeing out onto the fjord as Anna calls for her)_

Well who's to blame? Are we making the right choices?

'Cause we can't be sure if we're hearing our own voices,

_(Past the image of her flinging the door of her ice-palace triumphantly shut)_

As we close the door,

_(Elsa's face grows determined, and she banishes that memory into snowflakes with a wave.)_

Even though we are so desperate to stay!

…

_(Past a snow-figure of the frozen Anna protecting her on the fjord.)_

If this is the moment I stand here on my own–

_(Past a snow-figure of her and Anna embracing after the Great Thaw.)_

If this is my rite of passage that somehow leads me home–

_(Taking a deep breath as she watches Anna propose to Kristoff.)_

I might be afraid,

But it's my turn to be brave.

_(Snow forms into Kristoff and Anna embracing, hopelessly in love.)_

If this is the last chance before we say goodbye,

_(Elsa passes by it, smiling sadly)_

At least it's the first day of the rest of your life!

_(Determined, turning forward as she enters the fjord and leaves the ocean behind.)_

I can't be afraid,

Cause it's my turn to be brave.

_(Past autumn trees and cliffs)_

Oh!

…

_(Ducking her head as the Nøkk races through the Mist and out again)_

And I might still cry.

And I might still bleed.

These thorns in my side;

_(Sees the wave ahead of her and Arendelle beyond it; spurs the Nøkk onwards)_

This heart on my sleeve!

_(Thunder rolls in the storm as the Nøkk races up the crest))_

And lightning may strike

This ground at my feet;

_(Nøkk overtakes the wave)_

And I might still crash

_(Elsa grips the reigns as they leap down the foam)_

But I still believe…

…

_(Riding ahead as the wave crashes behind her)_

This is the moment I stand here all alone!

_(Spurs horse forward and brings it around, holding up a commanding hand)_

With everything I have inside, everything I own!

_(The wave shudders; she grits her teeth, not backing down, and slowly the wave comes to a halt, foaming)_

I might be afraid,

But it's my turn to be brave!

_(Turns to see the townspeople looking at her, agog–)_

If this is the last time before we say goodbye,

_(–Turns back to the wave, narrowing her eyes.)_

At least it's the first day of the rest of my life!

_(Clenches her hand; the wave changes form and then freezes, slowly…)_

I can't be afraid,

_(...Freezing, freezing…)_

Cause it's my turn to be brave.

_(...Into a dam of ice. Elsa brings the Nøkk around and gives the townspeople one last stern look, before spurring the horse off into the fjord again, vanishing into the distance like a star.)_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

* * *

"Is it just my imagination, or did we get home a lot faster than we got to Ahtohallan?" Kristoff eyed the coastline drifting past on the port side, the waves dashing on the pebbly beaches and the scarlet and gold leaves tumbling down against the cloudy mid-afternoon sky. Sweet, sweet living earth. It was good to be back.

"It's not your imagination," the captain called over, telescope tucked in his coat pocket and steering the ship carefully along the coastline. "I think the spirits have been helping us. The winds and tides have been exactly in our favor; I would kill to have conditions like this all the time." He saw Kristoff turn and give him a look and quickly added: "Metaphorically, of course."

"Uh-huh."

"I love autumn," Olaf sighed, resting his stick elbows on the bulwark and his cheeks on his hands. "The falling leaves, the ripe apples, the castaways waving for our help–"

"Wait, what?" Kristoff said, looking back down at the snowman.

"Hm. Come to think of it, that last one seems pretty specific to the North Forest," Olaf mused aloud, and Kristoff looked out towards the sandbar. Two figures were running along the coast in the distance, waving their arms.

"Uh, Westergård?" he called over his shoulder.

"I see them too." Hans squinted and pulled out his spyglass. What he saw shocked him so much that he dropped it and had to scramble for the telescope before it rolled away down the deck. "What?" Kristoff demanded.

"I– I can't believe– look!" The ex-prince thrust the telescope into his hands, and Kristoff peered through it.

"No way."

Through the little circle of light, the royal pair of figures on the beach beside the battered shipwreck were clear as day, waving their hands and calling out against the wind. Hans swung the wheel around as Kristoff, shell-shocked, passed the telescope to Olaf.

The king ran up to them first as Hans lowered the gangplank. "Thank goodness. We feared you wouldn't see us–"

"What day is it?" the queen urged as she stopped beside her husband. "What year?" And then: "Is your boat made out of…?"

"Ahtohallan's power is quite impressive, I know. Your Majesties. I'm sorry to tell you this, but you've been frozen for five years," the sailor replied, taking off his winter coat and offering it to the queen. "Madame, forgive me, but you look chilled…"

"Thank you…"

"Five years," King Agnar repeated, turning to look at the ruined wreck as if he couldn't quite believe it. "But…"

"We had the strangest dream," Queen Iduna said faintly, shaking her head. "As if we were somewhere and nowhere… and Elsa was…"

"Elsa," the king realized urgently, turning to his wife. "We left her alone–" He looked back at them, "What's happened to the princesses?"

"Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are fine," Hans reassured them. "They're here in the Forest."

"Well, technically Elsa's riding across the Dark Sea to save Arendelle from certain destruction," a cheery voice piped up, and the king did a double-take and scrambled back at the snowman waddling down the gangplank.

"Wh- what the– what is–"

"Common reaction, don't worry, I get it all the time. My name is Olaf, and I like warm hugs." He beamed up at the royals, who were staring at him in bug-eyed shock.

"Olaf…" Iduna shook her head. "Elsa made…"

"Life. She made life. With her magic." The king rounded on the two men and demanded: "Where are Elsa and Anna?! What's this about Arendelle's destruction—and you, I recognize you, you're the youngest Westergård boy." Hans winced. "How did you people find out about Elsa's powers? What is going _on_ here?"

"Ehm, well, that's a bit of a long story…"

"Ooh! Ooh, let me! I'm great at telling stories!"

"Of course you are; really, snowman, can't I get five minutes before–"

Hans's and Olaf's bickering fell silent as Kristoff stepped forward, blocking the sun. His back was straight, shoulders set, and he did not waver when he met the king's eyes.

"I'm Anna's betrothéd. We're getting married in a month." The monarch's eyes widened. "And I'm Elder Yelena's grandson, and the son of the people who saved your lives. We followed the Voice of Ahtohallan here to find the truth."

Agnar and Iduna shared a stunned look, and then turned back. "And…what is your name?"

"Kristoff. Kristoff Ranasson."

* * *

"You will have a home in the Forest for as long as you want it. I'm sure Lieutenant Matthias and his men would be honored to have you join their company."

"Thank you." Anna tried to give the elder a smile, but it didn't quite work. She and Yelena were walking alone alongside the river, while the rest of the Northuldra continued to celebrate back at the village. "I'm sorry the Mist didn't lift…I thought for sure breaking the dam was the key…"

"It was," Yelena reassured her, much to Anna's surprise. "The Four Spirits are working in harmony again, and our people are safe now; I am certain that in time, the Mist will vanish. We must simply wait for Ahtohallan's judgment."

"You seem far more sure of the future than I am." As they came to the place where the river joined the broader fjord, they came to a halt. Anna looked out over the calmer waters, her face falling again. "I can't go home after what I've done. I don't know what's going to happen now…"

Yelena allowed Anna a moment to herself, and then reached out and touched the younger woman's arm. Anna looked back. "Loss can be difficult to face," she said quietly. "It helps to have people around you who care about you."

Anna looked back out over the fjord, shining in the morning sunlight. "I miss them," she said, voice breaking, and Yelena nodded.

"So do I."

The two grieving women embraced each other, and Anna gave a soft sob and brushed several tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. She wasn't sure what she was going to do next. She didn't know how to face a world without the people she loved more than life itself.

 _But break it down to this next step…_ She squeezed her eyes tighter shut, and then pulled away, opening them with a watery smile. "Let's go back to the village." Yelena brushed away her own tears and nodded ruefully.

They had just turned to go, when a faint noise seemed to echo over the fjord waters at their back, and Anna turned, confused. "Did you hear…?"

The noise came again. Yelena narrowed her eyes, bewildered. "Was that a horse?" she demanded of Anna, but the princess's eyes had gone wide, seeing in youth something the old woman couldn't see.

"Elsa…?"

And then she was breaking away, rushing down the little rocky cliff and to the shore of the fjord. In the distance, she could see the figure recognize her and pick up pace.

Within moments, the woman and the Nøkk had come to a stop at the shore; the queen dismounted, looking more regal than Anna had ever seen her, and the horse melted back into the water. "Elsa!" Anna breathed, and launched herself at her sister. Elsa laughed warmly and embraced her back.

"Anna." The princess had begun sobbing with relief into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," the elder sister soothed. " Anna, I'm so _proud_ of you, but you _never_ should have had to face that alone. I'll make it up to you, I _promise_."

"But how– Ahtohallan– I saw–?"

"I'll explain everything later. Anna—Arendelle is _safe."_

The younger sister's eyes shot wide, and then shut again as she gripped her sister all the harder. "It's safe. _You're_ safe." Then a thought occurred to her. "The others!" She drew back, holding her sister at an arm's length, and saw Elsa smiling at her. "They're– are they–"

"They're all okay, Anna."

"K-Kristoff–?" Elsa nodded fondly, and Anna let out another sob and buried her face in her sister's shoulder again, weeping in relief.

* * *

"So… what happens now?"

One of the village scouts had spotted the ice-ship making its way upriver, and the sisters were walking arm-in-arm in front of the villagers on their way down the cliffs to the shore. "The Mist didn't fall," Elsa explained. "I don't think it's something you or I could do; it has to be their choice." Anna nodded. "I promised Kristoff I would come back and let him decide."

"You did that? Really?" Elsa nodded. "Why?"

"Our family has caused the Northuldra so many problems. And he knows us the best of all of them. If anyone has a right to decide whether we return to Arendelle, it's Kristoff…" Elsa took a deep breath. "Anna, if you and Kristoff want to stay here in the Forest, then—then actually it's really not my choice, so I don't know why I'm still talking–" But Anna had cut her off with a stifled giggle.

"Elsa–" She glanced over her shoulder, and then said in a hushed voice, "Kristoff doesn't want to stay in the Forest."

"What?" Elsa looked startled.

"Arendelle is his home, just like it is ours." She squeezed her sister's hand as they kept walking. "I haven't told the village that yet, though; I figured he should do that himself." She winced. "And Arendelle might not take us back now, anyway, seeing as I basically tried to destroy the kingdom…"

"I promised Kristoff I would make this right, Anna. If it's in my power," the queen vowed, "I will make sure Arendelle _stays_ your home. For both of you."

The ship of ice docked upriver near its wooden original about half an hour later. Before the captain could even lower the gangplank, Kristoff had spotted the redheaded figure along the narrow shore. "Anna!"

Half without thinking he launched himself over the bulwark, and didn't even notice as the riverwater froze beneath his feet. The queen stepped back with a smile as the two lovers collided in tears and laughter, and one very passionate kiss. "I was so scared," Anna half-sobbed, half-laughed as she buried her face in his chest. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Aw c'mon," he chuckled, patting her back. "You know you can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'm so sorry that I left you there. I just… I had to do the right thing. I'm sorry."

"I know. I know, it's okay." He held her closer, closing his eyes as he felt her warm and alive in his arms. "My love is not fragile."

She pulled back and opened her eyes, beaming tearfully at him. "By the way," Kristoff added, "There's some people who want to see you."

"Who?" He moved to the side, and Anna's mouth opened in a silent gasp.

"M…" Kristoff grinned and stepped back. "Mama? Papa!"

She ran forward; a moment later Elsa was rushing after her. The king and queen beamed at them as the two sisters collided into their arms, crying and laughing.

"Father, is it really–?"

"Elsa—look at you, you've grown so much–"

"Mama–!"

"Oh, Anna, we're so _proud_ of you–"

After many tears and embraces they pulled back. "Your hair," Anna noticed, seeing the white stripes that now adorned each of her parents' heads.

The king and queen linked hands, seeming to come to an agreement. "Girls– we are so sorry," the king said hoarsely. "We should have never kept so many secrets from you. We were only trying to protect you, but…"

"We never meant to hurt you," Idunna added.

The sisters shared a look, which communicated a whole conversation. Anna nodded, and turned back to them, with a rueful smile.

"We have a chance to fix that now. Together." Their parents looked at each other and nodded.

"Kristoff!"

" _Kristoff!"_

Further up on the shore the twins came to a stop in front of their cousin. "Anna told us everyone froze to death," Honeymaren said, astonished. "How did you get out alive?"

"I think… I think my mom saved me."

"Rana?" Ryder said. Kristoff nodded. "But… how?" Yelena had come up beside the twins, looking at her grandson with an uncharacteristically open expression of pure relief. He turned to her.

"I guess there are just some bonds of love that death can't break." The elder nodded. "What happened? Did the Mist lift? What happened to Arendelle?"

"You should ask the queen," Yelena said, nodding over his shoulder, and Kristoff turned.

Elsa had separated from her parents and Anna, standing in front of him. Kristoff hadn't really gotten a good look at her transformation before she'd left with the Nøkk for Arendelle, but now, the regal blue gown shimmering in the sunlight, he saw not merely his future sister-in-law but his queen. The cape had ended up swirled around by her feet when she turned, and he noticed the crocus in crystalized blue ice embroidered on the end. "Arendelle?" he asked, hoping against hope.

"I reached it in time—thanks to you."

"And the Mist?"

"I think that's up to you."

Kristoff looked over his shoulder. All of Yelena's village and many of the other Northuldra elders and villagers had gathered on the shore to watch the reunion. He turned again. "You came back." Elsa nodded.

"I made you a promise." She took a deep breath, stepping forward. "Kristoff…I am so, _so_ sorry. I should _never_ have asked you to hide who you are or where you come from; Arendelle needs to change, not you." She wrung her hands. "Is there any way you could ever forgi– _oof!"_ Kristoff had pulled her into a tight, reindeer-smelling hug, and the queen laughed despite herself. "C-Can I take that as a yes?"

"Don't shoulder all the blame yourself. I should've been honest from the start." He pulled back, smiling wryly at her. "You were trying to protect me the only way you knew how."

"That's not an excuse."

"No, it's not, but we're all learning. And yeah, of course I forgive you. Elsa, you're as good as a sister to me." He grinned at her and mussed her blonde hair, much to the snow queen's surprise. "And I want you as part of my family."

The queen smiled back. "Thank you."

"Kristoff." He turned. Yelena was standing not far off, and her grandson nodded, taking a deep breath.

"It has to be me, doesn't it."

"Has to be? No. But it _should_ be you."

He looked past her, to the people gathered behind her. "Is this what they want?"

"The Council unanimously agreed. The time has come to enter the world again."

"What if the Mist rejects me again?"

"It won't. So long as _you_ don't reject _it."_

Kristoff looked down as he felt a hand slip into his, and found that Anna had left her family to stand next to him. She squeezed his hand, and they shared a smile.

Together as one group, the people and the royal family made their way towards the Mist. Soon it loomed out of the trees ahead of them, swirling white and cool along the forest floor and blocking out the sunlight above. The whole of the Northuldra nation, hundreds of them, spread out east and west along the barrier, and Kristoff was strangely reminded of the unbroken line of figures his mother had once carved into her instrument.

They were here with him. And he knew they were proud.

The silence once everyone had gathered and the footsteps over the forest floor had quieted was startlingly pervasive, as if the whole forest was holding its breath. Kristoff approached the mist, breathing in deep and trying to settle his shaking hands. The towering wall swirled in front of him.

_Ah-ah, ah-ah–ayh!_

"It's okay. Thank you for protecting us, but we're safe now." He glanced back at the royal family, who were watching him nervously with the guards, looking very small and lonely surrounded by the whole host of the Northuldra people. "She kept her promise. We can trust them."

He stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened, and it seemed as if the Mist would not listen. Then a figure stepped forward from the gathered crowd and joined him.

_[Musical suggestion: "Iduna's Scarf," by Christophe Beck and the Cast of Frozen 2, at 0:59–1:40 minutes.]_

RYDER/KRISTOFF: Na na na heyana

MEN: _(Joining in unison)_ Hahiyaha naha

_(Drums are beaten.)_

Naheya heya na yanuwa

_(Women join in harmony)_

WOMEN/MEN: Hanahe yunuwana. Ha ha ya–

_(Drums are beaten)_

_(Royal family peers around, looking very small, as the whole Northuldra nation moves forward, the chorus and the drums echoing through the trees)_

NORTHULDRA NATION: Nuwa nu (Naya)

Nuwa heya nu (Naya na)

Nuwa nu (Naya)

Nuwa heya nu (Na)

Nuwa nu (Naya)

Nuwa nu (Na na)

NORTHULDRA NATION: _(Stark and powerful unison, no harmony):_ Na na na heyana

Nahiyaha naha!

The people fell silent, waiting expectantly. Slowly, the Mist swirled and grew lighter. As it dissipated, the blue autumn sky became clearer overhead. Ahead of them the tundra stretched out open and free, and, starting with Kristoff and the twins, one by one and then few by few, the people began to move out into the open air.

"Wow." Ryder and Honeymaren came to a stunned halt as they took in the scene. "So," the brother murmured. "This… is the world, huh." His sister nudged him with a smile.

"I never realized there was so much of it," she agreed. She turned to her cousin. "The Council will be lucky to have someone on it who knows what it's like out there."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that." Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the people around them moving out onto the land which had once been theirs—and which, hopefully, would be again. "Honeymaren… I'm not the right person to lead the village someday." The woman blinked in surprise. "Arendelle is my home, it always has been…and with any luck I'm hoping it will stay that way. But the Forest is yours. Any rights I've got here I'm abdicating to you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You're Yelena's heir, and you're going to make a great elder someday." She smiled at him, and he was about to say something more when a voice behind him said:

"You really are your parents' son." He turned to find Yelena standing behind him. "Doing what's best for both peoples. They would have been proud of you."

"That… means a lot," he agreed. "Actually, Yelena, I was hoping we could talk…?"

"Of course."

_[Screen notes: the following conversation is in the Northuldran language, with SUBTITLES:]_

They began to walk, leaving Honeymaren and Rider to explore the open tundra around them. As they did, a certain reindeer came bounding up to Kristoff, and he laughed, ruffling the deer's fur. "Heya, Sven. Did Ryder take good care of you?" The reindeer huffed cheerily. _"Yes, Kristoff! He gave me lots of carrots!_ You deserve 'em, buddy."

"Now that is absolutely your father's influence," Yelena snorted. "He used to talk to the reindeer too." Kristoff grinned and tugged affectionately on Sven's antler. "Did you want to talk about anything particular, or just listen to an old woman's thoughts?"

"Just that you seem to know a lot about the Spirits," he said nonchalantly. "How they work, what they want… things you couldn't get from an old story."

"Do I now?"

"My mother could hear Ahtohallan's call," he said bluntly. "And I think you can, too."

Yelena lowered her head with a secret smile. "I was never _called_ anywhere; my place was always here, guiding my people. So was your mother's. But…" She looked around at the others, nodding. "I think your destiny may lie outside of the Forest."

They continued walking across the short grass and lichens; Yelena seemed enchanted by the wide open sky above her. "Do you think the others will keep hearing the Voice?" Kristoff asked.

"I doubt it. They were called for a purpose; you have a _calling."_

"What about Elsa?"

"Having magic is neither necessary nor sufficient for communicating with the Spirits. However, if she is wise she will recognize the benefit of seeking the Spirits' continued guidance in her reign." The elder fell silent briefly, and Kristoff watched as Anna, Elsa and their parents walked alone together, a lone island of foreign clothing in the sea of Northuldran hide-and-wool tunics around them. "Your bride-to-be has also earned our trust." Yelena tilted her head. "Her sister would do well to put that resource to good use."

"I'm sure Elsa'll keep it in mind." Sven nosed him fondly, and Kristoff patted his head. He and Yelena both paused as a certain haunting voice echoed over the tundra, seeming to come not from the north, but from both nowhere and everywhere at once, and then smiled at each other.

Apart from the royal family, there was one figure who was likewise a bit out of place in the scene; having shed the gray overcoat in the warmer weather, the redheaded sailor found the autumn sunshine welcome as he peered across the expanse of blue sky and rolling tundra. It reminded him of the sea—wide and full of freedom.

_Freedom._

A gust of wind laced around his head, tugging at his hair and pulling him from his melancholy. He watched the sentient wind whip around a few people, playfully knocking off hats and entertaining children, and then whip around a certain redheaded woman's cloak before vanishing into the wide blue sky.

 _Uh oh._ Hans instinctively stiffened as the princess approached and gave a short bow. "Princess."

"Hans."

"You broke my boat," he noted, matter-of-factly.

"You broke my heart."

"Touché." He gestured forward. They started to walk.

"Look, I think it's fair to say I have good reasons for not liking you." Hans nodded. "But I'm not a terrible person–"

"One up on me, then."

She rolled her eyes. "For once just shut up, okay?" He pinked but acquiesced. "So I came to give you some advice: don't go back to the Isles."

"Anna," he sighed, but she cut him off, holding up a hand and shaking her head.

"Mm-mm. No. No excuses. Self growth, newfound maturity, sense of empathy. Right?" He looked embarrassed. "If you go back there you'll just become like them all over again. So just _don't._ Okay?" And then she did something truly surprising: she poked him in the chest and said fiercely: "You don't _need_ them."

Despite himself, he chuckled. "And once again I've underestimated you." At her fierce look he relented and said earnestly: "I won't. You have my word."

"Hm. Good."

She turned to go, but he said: "Princess Anna." She looked back. "I know you may not believe me, and if you don't I understand, but I– really, I'm–"

She held up a hand. "I heard it all in Ahtohallan." He fell silent. "That place you were in—it looked like a prison cell."

"You heard all that?" She nodded. "Well. I'm…glad."

She nodded again. "Goodbye, Hans. Take care of yourself."

Which was more than he could have hoped for, really. "Thank you. Princess."

She turned to go, and then stopped. "Papa." The former king was standing in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hans's face pale.

"Anna. I'd like a word with Mr. Westergård, if that's alright with you."

"Uh– yeah, I guess." She shot the ex-prince a somewhat pitying glance, and then walked away to where she saw Kristoff talking with Yelena.

"Ah, Princess Anna." The head elder gave her a nod. "Kristoff tells me you'll be heading back to Arendelle soon."

"It's where we belong. But Yelena—thank you, for offering me a home here, when I needed one. I'll never forget it."

"Nor will I forget what you were willing to give up for my people." They shared a smile, and then the older woman gestured with a nod. "Go on. Two young lovebirds like you shouldn't be hanging around some old crone at a time like." They laughed and reassured her otherwise, but nonetheless went off hand-in-hand. Yelena watched them leave, content, and then spotted a certain guardsman not far off. "Lieutenant Matthias."

The guard turned back to find the village leader smiling wryly back at him. "Yelena."

"I imagine you and your men will be heading back to Arendelle. You must be pleased."

"Yes, I…" He hesitated, looking around at his fellow soldiers, several of whom were peering in awe up at the blue sky—and several others who were talking to their acquaintances and friends among the Northuldra. He turned back. "Actually, I think some of my men are intending to stay here, in the Forest. With your permission, that is."

"Stay here in the Forest?" She was eyeing him knowingly. "You won't last long without a community to help you."

Matthias shrugged. "We've survived twenty years. With," he added, stepping forward and gesturing to the Northuldra around him, "your village's help, of course."

"Hm. And are you sure Arendelle will be alright without your men?"

Matthias looked over his shoulder. He could see the royal family some ways off, talking to Yelena's grandson. At the head of them, he saw, was that fine young queen and her courageous sister. He turned back.

"Yes. I think they'll be just fine without us."

"Well." Yelena's smile grew softer. "I, for one, am glad to hear it. Come." She turned, nodding her head towards a quieter part of the tundra. "Let's talk things over, come to a solution."

"Of course." Yelena turned forward again, and Matthias made a victory fist before clearing his throat and following after her in a more formal manner.

Back with the former king, things were significantly more chilly. Hans had quickly given a bow which, he hoped, didn't expose too much of the back of his neck. "Your Majesty." When he straightened up he saw that the king was watching him with a very unimpressed expression, eyebrows slightly raised, and the former prince cleared his throat. "Ah–"

"I've heard a lot of conflicting reports about you from my daughters."

Hans shut his mouth and glanced away. "I imagine so."

"I don't know what to make of you. I don't trust you. But you have also done Arendelle, and myself, a great service. And, technically, I am no longer king." Hans gave a small, awkward nod. "So I will leave it at this," Agnar said, straightening his jacket. "Stay away from my daughters. Especially Anna."

"That's…fair. Sir."

"Good."

"Father." The two men looked over to see the queen approaching, her pale hair and the rustling eggshell frost of her dress glistening in the autumn sunlight. "I need a word, with Mr. Westergård. May I steal him for a moment?"

"Elsa–"

"It's crown business," she added lightly, but gave her father a significant look, and Hans hid a twitch in his mouth by ducking his head. Apparently the queen was not going to tolerate being treated like a little girl.

Agnar blinked in surprise, but then nodded and stepped back. He gestured for Hans to follow the queen, and the sailor, grateful to be escaping his presence, obeyed.

The queen led the way back into the trees still not far behind them, and the ex-prince was grateful for the privacy. The walk through the autumn poplars was quiet, peaceful. They moved away from the crowds into the golden-leaved trees until they were somewhat secluded, and only then did Queen Elsa speak. "The Mist has fallen," she said, as they continued to walk. Hans hummed. "Where do you plan to go? Will you return to the Isles?"

"I…no. No, I won't. Anna made some excellent points."

"She can be very persuasive." Hans half-chuckled. "Will you stay here in the Forest then?"

"I've considered it, but no. For as kind as Yelena and her people have been to me, I think I'd be restless here—and restlessness and I are not a good combination." She politely tried and failed to hide a smirk. "I'll be setting sail in a few weeks, though where to I haven't decided; if her Majesty would like me to escort her family south, I'm sure I could make arrangements…"

"I'm sure the boat would probably be more comfortable, but I think it's important, politically speaking, that we return to Arendelle in Kristoff's sled. So I suppose this is where we part."

"A wise choice, your Majesty. I applaud you."

"Before you go anywhere else," the queen said, stopping her pace and turning to face him; Hans did the same, "you should go to Arendelle first. You're still a wanted man; you'll need a pardon from the Crown to protect you, especially if you ever come across your family."

"A pardon?" he repeated, surprised. "That is… forgive me, your Majesty, but that's very generous of you. Unexpectedly generous."

"Why should it be? You've done Arendelle a great service."

"It hardly comes close to repaying what I owe you," he objected, but the queen gave a wry smile.

"I'm not sure the past is something we can ever fully repay." She looked back towards the groups of Northuldra, peering up at the open sky and wide tundra in wonder. "Fixing our mistakes, so that the future can be better for everyone…that's what's important." Hans nodded quietly, seeing her point. "And besides," the queen said, turning back to him. "you need work done on your boat. The Crown can pay for that as well, since it was damaged in our service."

"Please tell the Crown I appreciate its munificence," he chuckled.

"I have a final offer." He raised his eyebrows. "Arendelle is going to need a courier, to run messages between us and the Northuldra. You said yourself you don't know where you're going, and Arendelle is a good kingdom—admittedly with some damage, but I believe in its ability to...reform itself."

He caught the double-meaning and smiled a little, ducking his head. "Well. Arendelle is certainly lucky to be governed by such a gracious queen." Elsa smiled. "But I'm afraid I'll have to turn down that offer. I don't think Anna or your people would be too keen on the idea of my hanging around."

"Anna's a big softy; she'll come around."

"She shouldn't." He looked up and met the queen's eyes. "I appreciate the offer, truly, I do. And I know what it meant for you to make it. But we can't erase the past—Arendelle's…or mine."

There was a pause, and then Elsa nodded. "Very well. I'll keep the pardon quiet, in that case. You will be left a mysterious and unnamed sailor who helped us in our hour of need."

"Ah, a real swashbuckler. I like that." He squinted his eyes and struck a half-noble pose. "Makes me sound dashing." Elsa chuckled, and he rolled his eyes at himself. "Well, I'll let you get back to your family. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Thank you. I imagine I'll be seeing you in the Arendelle harbor in a few weeks' time."

"Your Majesty." He gave a short bow, and she turned to go, before he abruptly got up the nerve: "Queen Elsa?" She turned. "I'm…I want you to know that I'm sorry. For Anna, for all of it. And not just because I was caught. I've already apologized to Anna—apparently—" The queen quirked a confused brow at that one, "but seeing as you're here…"

His gaze had dropped and he was awkwardly clutching the sides of his coat. Elsa studied him a moment and softened.

"As I said, you are pardoned." And again, he caught the double-meaning and glanced up uncertainly. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod, and his shoulders relaxed.

"Thank you. I… you will never know what that means to me, but thank you."

She bowed her head. "Mr. Westergård."

"Your Majesty."

She left him standing there in the poplars, looking relieved and somewhat surprised, and returned back onto the open heath. Anna and Kristoff were waiting for her there. "Hey," the princess said as she approached, nodding towards the trees. "What was that about?"

"I offered him a pardon. He accepted it." She watched as Anna appeared to consider this, and then the princess nodded.

"I suppose he's earned that."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. I was scared you wouldn't approve."

"Speaking of approving of things…" Anna nodded to Kristoff at her side, who squeezed her hand. "What are you going to do about this? About us?"

Elsa looked around at the gathered Northuldra people, chatting and laughing beneath the blue autumn sky. The sounds of laughter and reindeer hooves and children at play drifted past her on all sides. Ahead of her, she saw the reindeer rushing and circling together.

"I'm going to do what our family should have done a long time ago." She turned to her sister and brother-to-be. "I'm going to tell our people the truth."

* * *

**A/N: So there will be one more chapter after this one to conclude the story. Please review and tell me what you thought! Pax et bonum! –FFcrazy15**


	15. Chapter 15

Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I neither own the rights to Disney, Frozen, the Disney universe nor any of its associated media, derivatives or products. I do not profit from this work.**

**A/N: I would like to thank Tumblr's amazing and talented puryartist for illustrating one of my favorite scenes from this fic! You can check out the illustration at [https-colon-backslash-backslash]ffcrazy15[period]tumblr[period]com[backslash]post[backslash]626902823284752384[backslash]i-would-like-to-thank-the-amazing-and-unbelievably**

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

The small ship, sails in full billow, navigated around the edges of the melting ice-dam and into the Arendelle harbor. As it drifted to a halt beside the harbor, the passengers along the bulwark peered up at the town in the early morning light, awed. "So this is Arendelle," Ryder murmured to his sister. Honeymaren smiled and nudged him. "I thought it would look—I dunno, more evil."

"Things are changing, little brother. Things are changing."

At the gangplank the captain was handing over a folder to a certain Northuldra chieftainess. "That should have everything you need. I'll give Queen Elsa her copy later today."

"Thank you for your service, Mr. Westergård." Yelena and the young captain shook hands. "You're always welcome in the North Forest."

"We hope you'll come to visit," one former lieutenant, now suitor, Matthias said with a smile. He had donned the reindeer-hide _beaska_ tunic of Yelena's village, a nice change, Hans appreciated, from the battered old Arendellian military jacket.

"Thank you, I intend to." As the two were about to follow Yelena's grandchildren towards the guards waiting for them at the end of the dock, Hans reached out and caught the elder's elbow. "Wait, just a minute." Yelena and Matthias turned back, surprised, and the young man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I-I realized some things in Ahtohallan… Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. What you did for me, I didn't even realize—accepting and helping me, a total stranger—that is, I mean…"

Matthias and Yelena shared a knowing smile, and then Matthias set a hand on Hans's shoulder. "Sometimes it's hard to see that there are people who love us when we don't know how to love ourselves," he suggested quietly. Flushing, Hans gave a relieved nod.

"Thank you, again. For everything."

"Think nothing of it." After shaking the young man's hand, Matthias offered Yelena his arm, which she accepted, and gallantly escorted her off the boat onto Arendellian shores, heading towards the castle in the rising rosy dawn.

* * *

The young queen peered down from the library window, watching the visiting emissaries making their way across the castle bridge. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and resting her hands on the windowsill. This was going to be a big change for Arendelle, and she wasn't sure how the people were going to take it…but in the end, she thought as a reassured smile graced her features, it would be a change for the better.

She opened her eyes and chuckled softly under her breath as she saw that frost had appeared in lovely spirals over the wood—fronding out in crystals to the coronation crown resting on the sill beside her, recently recovered from the North Mountain. The dawn sunlight sparkled off the sapphire in the center.

With a firm sigh and a nod, she took up the crown, bowed her head slightly and nestled it gently into her pale hair.

As she straightened up, she heard a knock on the library door and turned. "Yes? Who is it?"

Kai peeked his head in through the crack. "Your Majesty, their Majesties Emeritus have arrived."

"They can come in." Her smile grew as her parents came into the room, hand-in-hand. "Mother, Father." She hugged them both. "Where are Anna and Kristoff? I thought they'd be with you."

"We haven't seen them. But you know Anna, she's such a late sleeper," Iduna chuckled, drawing back. "Oh, Elsa, you look…"

"Like a queen," Agnarr said. Elsa laughed and smoothed down the dress; it was the same as she had worn to save Arendelle from the flood.

"I thought it might… send a message." She looked up at her father. "The right message."

Her father nodded and squeezed her mother's hand, looking nervous but determined. "The right message," he agreed, meeting his daughter and queen's eyes, and Elsa knew he'd understood.

"Your Majesties," Kai announced, drawing their attention again to the door, "The delegates from the Forest Council."

Yelena, Matthias and the twins were welcomed with much laughter and well-wishing. "So where's my cousin and your sister?" Honeymaren asked the queen, when everyone had settled into their own groups to chat before the formalities. "We can't exactly get this herd on the road without them."

"Anna was almost late for my own coronation," Elsa said with a good-natured eyeroll. "Don't worry, I budgeted in some extra time. By the way, I have something for you…"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes…" She reached up to her shoulders and unhooked the ice cape from her dress; it thawed in a few seconds, the lower part melting away as the upper part defrosted back into a rosy pink scarf. "Your shawl—you were right. It helped me find what I was looking for in Ahtohallan." She folded the garment and passed it back to the Northuldran woman, who accepted it with a confused smile. "I won't forget what you've done for me—for all of us."

"I don't understand. All I did was lend you my scarf…"

"To the leader of your enemy," Elsa added, "without a second thought. It was more than just a scarf." Still with that bewildered smile and a shrug, Honeymaren took the shawl back. The two women looked over at Ryder, who was peering up at the vaulted ceiling of the castle with curiosity, his white hair poking out from under his fur cap. "I'm glad you got your powers back."

"I always knew I had magic," Honeymaren said proudly, looking down at the four-pointed star embroidered into the scarf. "I could feel it, like the pull of the river."

"I know the feeling." Elsa waved her hands, and a four pointed snowflake materialized out of the air. She thawed it into a sphere of water and "tossed" it to Honeymaren, who "caught" it with a laugh, bounced it twice like a snowball, and then chucked it at her brother. The small ball of water splashed onto his hat with a _ploosh!_ and Ryder whirled around, shocked. The two women pressed their hands to their mouths as they tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle their laughter. With a wave of her hand, the queen had a new cloak—a royal crocus glittering in all its glory on the train.

* * *

_Knock knock kn-knock knock._

The man turned. "Anna?"

"Hey. Can I come in?"

"Sure." The guest-room door opened and Kristoff gave the princess an anxious blown-out sigh, gesturing to his apparel. "So. How do I look?"

"Sharp," Anna approved, looking him up and down. The ice-harvester-turned-suitor was wearing a new, Northuldran reindeer-hide tunic—and his Arendellian _Royal Ice Master and Deliverer_ medallion overtop it. _"Very_ handsome."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

The princess hummed happily and went to stand beside him, looking at the two of them in the mirror. She had donned a gown of deep forest-green and pulled her hair back into an elegant bun, looking easily five years more mature than before. "It's a big day, huh," she said softly, and then quickly clarified: "I mean, not _the_ big day, but still–"

Kristoff chuckled, and she grinned. "...Can I say something crazy?" he admitted.

"I can deal with crazy."

"There's a part of me that doesn't want to do this. I'm…kinda scared, of how things will change."

Anna let out a sigh through her nose and nodded, turning to look him in the eyes and taking his hands. "Change can be scary," she agreed. "But it's okay when things change, because the important things stay the same." She squeezed his hand. "Like true love."

Kristoff smiled at her, and then let go of her hands to pull her into a bear-hug of an embrace. Anna giggled and hugged him back. "Come on. Let's not make the others late."

"Just a minute." She stepped back, and he looked back at himself in the mirror. His mother's lute had been laid against the gilt frame next to his travelling things, still unpacked. For just a moment, his mind flashed back to the reflection he had seen in the Mist memories of Ahtohallan…of his parents, who had given their lives to save the kingdom he called home. "The important things stay the same, right?" he murmured. Anna's reflection slipped her hand into his.

"They're proud of you, Kristoff. I'm sure of it." _  
_He looked down at her and nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah. So am I."

They walked through the quiet halls to the library, the sun rising through the castle windows and falling in soft rose-peach chinks along the carpet. "So I gotta ask: this whole communing-with-the-four-spirits-of-nature thing," Anna mused, "can you like— _actually_ talk to reindeer?"

"What? No, of course not," he chuckled.

"Hey, I don't know how these things work, so I gotta ask, right?"

"Eh, well." He winked at her as they rounded the hallway corner. "We'll have the rest of our lives to figure them out together."

Their families were waiting in the hallway in front of the balcony doors. "Anna, Kristoff," Elsa greeted them. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Anna said, squeezing Kristoff's hand, who nodded.

"Then I guess it's time. I guess the only question now is, who goes first?"

"We will," Kristoff volunteered.

"Are you sure? I could explain things to the people first if you like..."

"We're sure, Elsa."

"Well, in that case…" The queen stepped aside and gestured towards the balcony doors, as the others parted to either side and fell quiet. Kristoff and Anna shared a look, took a deep breath and gripped each other's hands tightly. Together they walked forward as the servants opened the doors, new morning sunlight spilling over their faces, as they stepped out onto the balcony.

In the courtyard below the gathering crowd began to turn, head by head, as the buzz of shocked whispers began to grow. The suitor and princess stood proud and tall, side-by-side, in the light of a new day.

There was barely time for the crowd to register this shock before a new one was upon them: their beloved queen, glistening in a stunning dress of ice, striding onto the balcony in equal pace with the Northuldran Elder at her side, standing with all the dignity and pride of a second queen. And then, the final shock: their presumed-dead, former king and queen filling out the balcony on one side, and two white-haired Northuldrans on the other.

In a strong and carrying tone, the Queen of Arendelle gave a full account of the story, start to finish—from King Ruenard and his dam to Queen Elsa and hers. "The ice dam will remain in the fjord as a reminder," she concluded firmly, "a reminder of Arendelle's wounds, which we must all labor to mend, until such a time as the sun melts it of its own accord. And from this moment forward," she finished, turning to her sister and the man at her side, "it is hereby decreed that marriages between Arendellians and the Northuldra are no longer, and never again shall be, forbidden in Arendelle." Anna gave her sister a grateful smile and a nod.

"With the reopening of our shared border and the righting of the wrongs committed against our people, the Forest Council anticipates with great eagerness the resumption of a mutually beneficial alliance with Arendelle," Yelena added. "We cannot forget the past, or ignore its effects on the future..."

She glanced over at the queen, who nodded with a small rueful smile and turned back to the people. "But we believe," Elsa finished, "that with mutual respect and a willingness to listen and understand, we can leave the past in the past, and move into a _better_ tomorrow."

In the gathered crowd below, one redheaded sailor hung around at the back, listening to the queen's speech. It was very well-done, he decided, but seeing the shocked and silent faces around him he decided the situation could use a little nudge.

Someone—from the balcony, the queen wasn't quite sure who—began to clap in the audience. That clapping was joined by another, and another. Swept up in the moment (and some, no doubt, by peer pressure), the people rose up in a swell of applause. Anna let out an amazed little laugh and turned to Kristoff, who had broken into incredulous beaming. She thought she maybe saw tears in his eyes, and then knew it when he hurriedly scrubbed at his face with the back of his hand.

"Go ahead," she murmured, leaning in closer, and he repaid her with an amazed smile. "I won't judge."

He laughed again, and then lifted his awed gaze skywards as, unheard by the crowd below, a joyful and powerful call echoed over the fjord:

_Ah-ah ah-ah!_

* * *

The sailor tapped the barometer on the side of the cabin, saw the hand move and nodded approvingly. The standard was blowing west, out to the fjord and the open sea, and the tides were with him. It was time to get going.

The harbor was brimming with life around him in the crisp autumn breeze; he could hear fishermen hawking their catch and merchant crews loading or unloading their goods, though he had wisely docked his boat some distance from the activity. Along the roads behind the docks, he could see that people were moving in twos and threes towards the center of town, for the day's main event. An unusually lively breath of fresh air swirled around his hair, and Hans smiled fondly at the spirit before looking out towards the fjord. Beyond the ice-dam lay...well, everything, really. A whole world. It was invigorating and, if he were being honest, a little frightening.

Behind him came the sound of a horse's hooves clopping up the pier. As Arendelle had a fairly busy harbor he didn't think much of it, at least until he heard a familiar voice say: "The Nøkk."

Hans turned. The Queen of Arendelle was standing on the dock beside the gangplank, her gown glistening with a faint bluish sheen in the sunlight. "Your Majesty." He dusted off his hands and gave a short bow. "That was quite a speech you gave. Might even be enough to turn public opinion against any future mobs."

Elsa ignored this. "The Nøkk, it saved me here in the fjørd, before we ever even left for the Forest. I didn't realize it back then, but I think I understand now." Hans raised his eyebrows. "You never answered Anna's question; why _does_ he like you?"

Hans chuckled. "'Like' is a strong word. The wind-spirit likes me; it would be more honest to say the Nøkk tolerates my presence. I spent quite a lot of time in the seas along the northern coast. After a few… shall we say, ill-fated encounters–" He shuddered, memories of splashes and angry whinnies plaguing his mind, "–we came to an agreement, I suppose you could say. So long as I didn't tell any lies, he wouldn't try to drown me."

"I suppose you didn't actually ever lie to us," Elsa recalled, to her surprise. "Though you didn't always volunteer the truth, either…"

"A man has a right to his secrets. Well—most of the time." He planted his hands on his hips, surveying her. "But I don't imagine you came all this way to talk horses with me."

"Not only horses, no." The queen reached into an invisible fold in her dress and withdrew an envelope sealed with the royal crest. "Your pardon."

"Thank you." The little gust of wind whipped the letter from her hands and deposited it neatly in his, and he snorted. "And thank you, Gale."

"There's also someone Anna said you'd want to see before you left." She nodded behind her, and Hans's mouth fell open as, tame as a housecat, the horse she'd been riding trotted up behind her.

"Sitr–" He scrambled down the gangplank to the pier. "Sitron!" The horse whinnied as he gave an incredulously laugh and stroked the horse's nose, pressing his forehead to Sitron's. "You kept him," he said, and Elsa politely pretended not to notice the tears brimming along his squeezed-shut eyes.

"I wasn't about to blame a horse for the actions of its master." Hans stepped back, fondly patting Sitron's neck.

"It's a relief to know he's in such good hands." The horse nickered, and he shushed it kindly. "You be good and work hard for them, alright? They're good people." He patted the horse's nose. "I'm sure they'll give you more carrots than I can, now…"

"You know, the offer still stands." Hans looked over. "The Crown still needs a regular messenger to the Forest."

"Hn." He gave the horse a last fond smile and reluctantly stepped back. "You've certainly mastered the art of bribery, your Majesty. But I'm…afraid I must decline. Respectfully, of course."

"You're on good terms with the Northuldra," the queen pointed out, "and you have the only known maps of the north coast."

"Ah. Not quite true, your Majesty." He reached into the inner fold of his coat and retrieved a second folder, identical to the first. "A full report of everything I witnessed—copies of the maps included."

"How considerate," the queen remarked, not altogether sarcastically, as she opened the folder and studied the pages.

"You'll find every I is dotted and T is crossed. That should hold up in any international court that would want to challenge it. The Northuldra have an identical copy as well."

"A foreign, nonpartisan witness," Elsa appreciated. "Ahtohallan really did think of everything."

"And here I thought I was just a man with a boat," Hans chuckled. The queen closed the folder.

"So what do you say? Any chance of changing your mind?"

"Ahah…" He looked around the docks wryly. "Nobody seemed to recognize me at the speech—I think it's the long hair and beard–" Elsa tilted her head in agreement, "—But I'm certain that won't last if I decide to hang around here for too long." He gestured to the kingdom behind her. "Besides, you're already facing enough challenges to your popularity as it is. Welcoming me into the fold isn't going to do you any favors."

"You did help Arendelle survive the Great Freeze," she pointed out. "I'm sure some of our citizens still remember that."

"And while it's kind of you to acknowledge as much, something tells me sentiments like 'That Prince Hans fellow, he wasn't a total piece of human mildew' don't exactly match the party line of the last two years."

"Then maybe the party line needs to change." Hans chuckled dryly. "Things will be different now," the queen added. "Here in Arendelle, if nowhere else."

"I want to believe that, your Majesty, I really do. But I've spent a lifetime watching people say one thing and mean another. If I were a little vainer I'd say I learned from the best, but that's just how people are." He nodded to the gathering crowd in the distance. "You might be able to force people to see the truth once or twice in a lifetime, but in the end most people will look the other way when the truth is too inconvenient."

"Maybe that's how the world is, but it's not how it has to be."

"If anyone can change this sorry world for the better, your Majesty, it would be you and your sister," he said, and genuinely meant it. "And I'm sure Arendelle will be the better for it. But I think…I think I have some things I need to figure out on my own first."

The queen saw the wisdom in this and nodded wryly. "Well, if you're determined, I won't stop you. But I hope you'll come back to Arendelle someday." She smiled and looked up as the horse nudged her. "And I think Sitron agrees."

"I'm sure he does. He's a very bossy horse."

"Hm. Well, safe travels." She curtsied, and Hans gave a stiff bow. He watched her swing herself up on Sitron and ride away, and then resumed his preliminary checks on the condition of the boat. About halfway through, however, he glanced back at the crowd heading into town. It was growing.

Something—he wasn't sure what, but it felt like a small voice, somewhere deep inside—intrigued him into lowering the gangplank again and making his way back up the pier. He'd stay for an hour, at least. Just an hour.

At the edge of the pier he turned back, looking out over the fjord. The afternoon sun was glittering brightly off the ice dam's wall. The sailor reached into his pocket and pulled out his compass. He peered down at the lion embossing for a moment, hesitating, and then wound back his arm and threw it as hard and as far as he could out into the fjord.

It dropped into the water with a satisfying and irreversible _plunk!_ The sailor gave a short nod, took a deep breath, and turned on his heels.

Soon he found himself at the edge of the crowd, peering over the heads of the people. Few paid him much mind amidst the bustle; when he reached the center of the crowd he saw what the commotion was about; the statue of King Ruenard had been wound in lengths of chain, and Hans had the feeling it wasn't to keep someone from stealing the statue. Anna was running around organizing people into teams; some townspeople were looking on, stony-faced, but to Hans's surprise, a growing number of Arendellians were nodding resolutely and offering to help. They weren't the only ones; Arendellian guards and Northuldran fighters were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a ring around the statue, preventing any interference with the event. Standing some distance away, behind another line of guards, he spotted Yelena (Matthias was watching on from not far off) speaking with her Majesty, while the monarchs-emeritus hovered behind their daughter, looking somewhat anxious and out of place.

"Elsa, I think we're ready!" Anna called, and suddenly Hans was being swept up with the crowd. Someone put him into a row; somebody else put the chain into his hands, and when he looked up he saw that everyone had gathered and mixed together—Arendellians and Northuldrans, working side-by-side, in the strangest game of tug-of-war he had ever seen.

"And _right!"_

They strained against the chains.

"And _left!"_

The statue began to wobble.

"And _right!"_

The queen and Yelena were at the front of his line. Her Majesty's parents, he saw, were at the front of the other, her father's face nervous but determined.

"And _left!"_

The statue shuddered on its plinth.

"Come on, everyone! _Right!"_

The statue rocked to the side, and then didn't stop. King Ruenard's bronze visage toppled to the cobblestones with a deafening crash, and then a great cheer went up from the crowd. It was not the voice of one person or one group, but of many—of people who had changed their minds, of people reaffirming their dignity, of people who had decided to do the next right thing.

And for the first time in possibly his whole life, the ex-prince felt a rush of faith in humanity. Maybe Anna was right, after all. Maybe most people really were good at heart—they just needed a little encouragement towards the truth.

Up near the plinth, the queen dropped the chain and waved her hands. With a flurry of sparkles and snowflakes, a new statue appeared to take the other's place: a perfect ice replica of a young Northuldran woman, wind full in her hair, hand protectively outstretched. Elsa smiled up at it, feeling a weight at last settle off her shoulders.

"Ooh! Ooh! Don't forget the permafrost!" The queen looked down with a giggle as the snowman waddled up to her.

"Thanks for the reminder, Olaf." With another little wave of her hand, a fine layer of frost covered the statue, glimmering for a moment in a cascade of four-pointed snowflakes before fading in the sunlight and sealing the statue permanently into place.

"That'll melt when you die, you know," a voice said bluntly, and the queen turned to face Yelena, her parents and Matthias as they approached.

"We'll have a bronze one made by then," Agnarr promised the Elder.

"Hm. This had better not just be a symbol, Queen Elsa; we expect you to keep your word."

"The plains and tundra near the Forest will be returned to the Northuldra, and anyone who lost their property here in Arendelle will be compensated," Elsa promised. "Kristoff and Anna will arrive at the Winter Council next month, after the wedding; they'll negotiate a proper allyship between Arendelle and the Northuldra and stay in the Forest as our ambassadors until spring."

"Yelena has asked me to serve as the Council's ambassador to Arendelle," Matthias informed his former monarch. "So with your permission, I'll return with the transport in the spring and stay until summer."

"That sounds perfect," the queen agreed warmly.

"Elsa!" The discussion was cut off as Anna rushed up, dragging an amused Kristoff behind her. "Gerda says they're ready for everybody; should we open the gates?"

"Absolutely. Yelena, shall we–?"

"Of course. I'm looking forward to experiencing some of Arendelle's famed hospitality," the Elder said wryly. Elsa half-winced, half-laughed as they began to move towards the castle. "Tell me, is krumkake as good as Matthias says it is?"

"You're going to love it," Kristoff assured his grandmother.

As they started off into the settling peace of the evening, Elsa paused a moment and glanced back at the statue. The Arendellian guards and Northuldra soldiers were still standing watch over it, and from the unpleasant expressions of some of those in the crowd, she imagined they probably would have to for some time. But around the statue, too, a new scene was taking place: people were talking and laughing as they walked towards the castle, Northuldra and Arendellians together, celebrating the new way of things. Things _could_ change for better—not right away, not without a lot of hard work, but they could. And they would. She would make sure of that.

With a mischievous little smile, she snapped her fingers, and then continued on with the rest of her family. At the bottom of the plinth a new plaque of ice appeared, words etching across it in clear letters, and then finalized with a small burst of glittering snowflakes:

— _Davvebiegga mearas lea,_

_doppe eadni geas leat muittožat.—_

Quite independent of the Queen's magic, where the last sparkling snowflake touched down to earth, a sudden flower bloomed through the crack in the cobblestones—a vibrant purple crocus.

_Ah-ah ah-ah!_

* * *

**_~ Fin. ~_ **

* * *

_[Musical suggestion and accompanying credits video: Sofia Jannok's "This Is My Land (Sápmi)," (music starts at 1:11 minutes)]_

**CREDITS:**

_Kristoff Ranabárdni:_

Jonathan Groff/Vegard Bjørsmo

_Elsa Idunasdotter:_

Idina Menzel/Marianne Pentha

_Anna Idunasdotter:_

Kristen Bell/Elin Kristina Oskal

_Hans Westergård:_

Santino Fontana/Vegard Bjørsmo

_Olaf:_

Josh Gad/Ánndaris "Anders" Rimpi

_Rana Jelenanieda:_

Sofia Jannok

_Yelena/Jelena:_

Martha Plimpton/Mari Boine

_Lieutenant Matthias:_

Sterling K. Brown/Mikkel Gaup

_King Agnarr:_

Alfred Molina/Áslat Holmberg

_Queen Iduna:_

Evan Rachel Wood/Eva Jeanette Iversen

_Honeymaren/Ánne-Máret:_

Rachel Matthews/Ánne Mággá Wigelius

_Ryder/Ráste:_

Jason Ritter/Ole-Gabriel Buljo

_The Voice/Jietna:_

AURORA

_With Special Musical Appearances By:_

Frode Fjellheim and CANTUS, working in conjunction with the Cast of Frozen II


	16. Soundtrack

A/N: Hi there! You have found the track list for the fanfiction _Frozen II: Into the Unknown._ If you are looking for the Epilogue, please skip back one chapter!

* * *

**Track List:**

1\. "All Is Found" (Rachel Wood)

2\. "Some Things Never Change "(Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Cast of Frozen II)

3\. "Get This Right" (Jonathan Groff, Kristen Bell)

4\. "Into the Unknown" (Stephen Scaccia)

5\. "All Is Found" (The Hound + The Fox)

6\. "When I'm Older" (Josh Gad)

7\. "I Seek The Truth" (Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Patti Murin)

8\. "Gliepnir" (SKÁLD)

9\. "Hvor er Mine Fødder Dog Ømme" (Pierrot L'asticot)

10\. "Reindeer Circle" (CANTUS)

11\. "Aejlies" (Frode Fjellheim and CANTUS)

12\. "The Next Right Thing" (Kristen Bell)

13\. "Glacial" (The Hit House)

14\. "Vuolvojávrri" (Sofia Jannok) (*To find on YouTube, remove the accent over the "a"; skip ahead to 1:33 minutes))

15\. "Show Yourself" (Gabi and Colin, from "Fancy Vlogs By Gab")

16\. "Brave (Acoustic)" (Idina Menzel)

17\. "Vuelie/Iduna's Scarf" (The Cast of Frozen II) (*skip ahead to 1:00 minutes)

18\. "This Is My Land (Sápmi)" (Sofia Jannok)


End file.
